Boys

I don't have a strong preference about the sex of our child, though I must admit a tiny preference for a girl because I know girls better than boys. So, I am a little apprehensive about having a boy -- and we won't know whether the Pumpkin is a boy or a girl for another 5 weeks.

I just read an interesting paragraph in an article in the Washington Post about a PBS documentary that was on last night called "Raising Cain" (presented by Michael G. Thompson, co-author of the book Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys ):

Research confirms that genetically baby boys and girls exhibit more similarities than differences. Contrary to common stereotypes, experiments show that baby boys are emotionally more vulnerable than girls. At Harvard University Medical School, Thompson follows an experiment that shows how infant boys and girls deal with the absence of a mother's attention. While the girls remain calm and find ways to occupy themselves, the boys become upset. But from a young age, boys are directed to deny their feelings and emotional responses. They are encouraged to exhibit aggression and toughness as signs of manliness; feelings of vulnerability and fear are discouraged. Authority figures then react simply to the physical and aggressive behavior they see rather than boys's true feelings. Problems intensify as boys enter the public school system.

(Interesting that the first sentence tells us that there are more similarities genetically between girls and boys and that the next sentence goes on to tell us a difference between girls and boys...)

PBS also has a companion website to the show about raising and understanding boys. I haven't had much time to look through it, but it seems like it might be interesting -- though their little "Quick tips slideshow" about raising boys isn't at all helpful and seems really obvious. One interesting aspect of the slideshow, however, is that it lightly suggests (and seems afraid to pursue) that maybe school isn't the right learning environment for boys. I know there have been studies made on homeschooled children and behavior and I wonder if any of them were taken into account when this documentary and website were prepared.

maman