After 12 years of parenting only girls, I often tell people I feel like a first-time parent with our little boys. It seems like every day, I notice things they do and say which are unique to our boy-parenting experience. Sometimes, I feel like a scientist: watching, observing, taking mental notes. I can’t think of how many times I’ve watched in amazement/amusement/horror and thought “none of the girls did that.” Take balls, for instance. We have had several balls through the years which the girls played with periodically. But I’d bet the boys have played with them more in the past couple of years than the girls played with them, combined.
Just a couple of quick observations about boys and their ball play: 1) they should never be allowed around food and drink – the balls will become air born at some point, even after several pleasant reminders (read: warnings) to keep them on the floor; and (2) instead of just passing the ball back and forth (which is how the girls played with them), they can be played with in an infinite number of ways. All you need is the right kitchen utensil. Usually a wooden spoon is the instrument of choice, but anything will work really. Today it was a cheese slicer and a meat thermometer.
Parents who start out with boys (or have one after the first or second girl), may not be as entertained by these observations, but they are really amazing and hilarious to us. :-)
Just wait until they start to wrestle!
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