I'm really loathe to admit this, because I firmly believe that people are people and we're all pretty much the same. But having two sons, and watching them interact with other kids has lead me to the conclusion boys are different to girls. Even as very small children.
My kids are off school for two weeks and because (miracle of miracles) I don't have any festivals or major events at work this week, I decided to take this week off to spend with them. Since the weather forecast is crap for the rest of the week, I decided yesterday was our 'outdoor activity' day. I had one of my eldest's friends to take care of too, so we trekked off to the Botanic Gardens. It's nice to walk around and look at plants and there's a really good playground there. So we climbed the gargantuan hill to the playground and the boys ran off in every direction.
It wasn't long before they gravitated toward another group of boys who were playing tag. No one ever asked or invited the others to join in, but soon all these boys were playing freeze tag together. No one asked each others name, or age or anything. They just ran and tagged. Other boys joined in. Soon there were about 9 or 10 kids all playing, all calling each other 'hey you!'.
If this had been a group of girls, they all would have exchanged names at least before or during playing, and I'm pretty sure invitations to join the group would have to have been issued before anyone was allowed to join in.
Afterward, when I asked my boys who the kids were they were playing with, they just shrugged and said 'just some kids.' They played for over an hour together... Different.
Have you ever noticed the ways boys are different to girls?
Because I work in a male-dominated industry, and 9 times out of time I will be the only one, or one of only two women on my team at work, I like to pretend men and women are the same (it makes it easier to fit in).
ReplyDeleteBut there are definitely times when my coworkers start talking and I realize there's a distinct difference in approach and perspective. Not to say everyone fits in a neat little box (I'd be the last person to say that), but there are some things that set their actions apart from mine based on gender.