SO boys and girls are not that different. But then enter society. From the colour of the nursery, to the choice of toys and activities, to the types of emotions that are considered acceptable, society treats boys and girls differently. I am not aware of any society or culture that treats girls and boys the same.

Unless you live in the woods, cut off from society, and home school your children, you do need to parent boys and girls differently.

We need to teach our girls:

• That there is more to life than meeting your prince
• That big rigs, trains, dump trucks, and fire engines are pretty cool
• That boys are not dumb
• That no one is allowed to hit them ever
• That they can play hockey, box, and ski jump (even if the Olympics doesn’t think so)

• That they can be political and business leaders
• That math, engineering, science and information technology are great careers
• To not let anyone tell them to cover up or strip down

• That their health issues are important, even if research and care for them is underfunded
•  To say no

We need to teach our boys:

• That it is okay to cry and it is good to express your emotions
• That they can like pretty colours, flowers, sunsets, and cute furry animals
•  That girls are not sissies
•  That violence is not an acceptable way to resolve disputes
•  That women and girls are people, not objects

•  That they can be stay at home fathers
•  That they can play with dolls
•  That their health issues are important, even if society tells them that only the weak see a doctor when they are suffering
•  To respect no

We need to parent boys and girls differently to counteract the negative messages that society sends them. But more than that, we need to parent each child as an individual.

We need to look at their personality, their strengths, their weaknesses, and the way that society impacts them, and then parent accordingly.

We need to consider what will help each child to be happy and enable them to meet their potential as a human being.

PHD IN PARENTING