Are Preschool Boys Different from Girls?

Now that it's summer and I'm home with all my boys, I've had the chance to observe them more when I'm still in a good mood (as opposed to the hours after 5pm when I start getting tired and crabby and begin to lose patience). It's been raining all week and unfortunately, I feel like we're on some sort of lock down. It's beginning to get on my nerves. Nonetheless, having a few play dates friends and their girl siblings, I'm amazed by the differences between preschool boys and girls. Boys are really different from girls. Here are some things I've noticed (that are also supported by educators and scholars including Dr. Michael Thompson,  Michael Gurian and more)

• When compared to girls of the same chronological age, boys are developmentally more immature than girls.
• Boys cry more easily and are harder to calm.
• Boys are more impulsive than girls and are developmentally immature.
• Boys are not as able to engage in multi-task behavior.
• Boys do not hear as well as girls.
• Boys express fear later than girls, and less often.
• Boys are more physically active.
• Boys are more adept at keeping track of moving objects
• Boys have a harder time processing emotions than do girls. Therefore, adjustment after an emotionally charged situation is more diificult for boys. This lag time can interfere with the learning process.
• With boys, parents need to recognize that developmental immaturity doesn't mean their son won’t be a healthy or loving man. Boys will mature,  just at a slower rate.
• Boys prefer looking at groups of faces rather than individual ones.
• Research has found that mothers treated sons with more warmth and permissiveness than they did daughters.

Additional resources:

• Gender differences

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