Boys Are Different
When I was pregnant with my son, people often exclaimed "oh, a boy and a girl-you're so lucky". Our daughter was two then and I hadn't really thought at all about how having a boy might be different. The "you're so lucky" comments rolled off my back. I knew that having a boy would be nice and perhaps different in some ways but of course with kids you never know until you're in the thick of it.
My 7 year-old boy is headstrong. For example, the other morning at 3:05 I was awakened by a cat that wanted to take a bladder break outside. I got up and found most of the lights in the house on. Then I heard the television. I hurried down the stairs with the cat and found my son watching television--at 3 AM. "What are you doing? It's the middle of the night." I asked. "I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd watch cartoons." I said "Children don't watch TV in the middle of the night." And in reply he said "well, I do." I bundled him off to bed about a minute later and shut down "Ed, Edd and Eddy" (surely one of the dumbest cartoons ever created).
The next day, my daughter was alternatively perplexed, dismayed and amused to hear of her brother's late night ramblings. She was also a bit impressed. It was clear that she was impressed with both his audacity and his creativity. "Who watches TV at 3 AM?" was her overall response. And again, his answer was "I do". We shook our heads in unison.
A few months ago, he decided to wait on the front steps for a friend to come by but apparently grew tired of sitting. Around 4 PM, I got a call at the office from my son "Please don't be mad, please don't be mad.". I calmed him down and tried to figure out what was going on. From a neighbor I learned that she'd been driving through the town next to hours and had spotted Kid 2 strolling merrily along on the sidewalk in the middle of the town center. She stopped and asked him where he was going and he blithely replied "I'm just going for a walk". She scolded him, scooped him into the car and brought him home after a second stern lecture. He was terrified. Later when I asked him what had gone on in his brain, he said "my feet just kept on going, so I went with them." He knows now that his feet can only take him to the corner and no further...
Both of my kids have pretty good judgement...I think. My daughter tends to stand back and consider carefully what's going on before she acts. She wisely observes but does not participate in the inevitable catty comparison games that go on between her 11 year old peers. She enjoys school. My son hates school. Older relatives are often horrified to hear that he dislikes school. They seem to think that this has some far-reaching significance. However, all of his friends hate school--to a boy. They think it's a waste of time compared to chasing each other all over the playground and yelling things like "sinus erection" and "Ooga Googa". They hate sitting still and they dislike having to listen for what they consider long periods of time.
Maybe it's just my kids, but while my daughter seems to innately feel that teachers have interesting ideas to impart, my son views teachers as little more than game wardens. They keep the animals from causing too much damage to the school, to innocent bystanders and to themselves, but otherwise it's just a time sink. Lunch is a perfect example--my son eats his snack, drinks his chocolate milk and uses the rest of the time to kick and poke his friends. Eat? Why waste time? Life is short and school is long....
My 7 year-old boy is headstrong. For example, the other morning at 3:05 I was awakened by a cat that wanted to take a bladder break outside. I got up and found most of the lights in the house on. Then I heard the television. I hurried down the stairs with the cat and found my son watching television--at 3 AM. "What are you doing? It's the middle of the night." I asked. "I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd watch cartoons." I said "Children don't watch TV in the middle of the night." And in reply he said "well, I do." I bundled him off to bed about a minute later and shut down "Ed, Edd and Eddy" (surely one of the dumbest cartoons ever created).
The next day, my daughter was alternatively perplexed, dismayed and amused to hear of her brother's late night ramblings. She was also a bit impressed. It was clear that she was impressed with both his audacity and his creativity. "Who watches TV at 3 AM?" was her overall response. And again, his answer was "I do". We shook our heads in unison.
A few months ago, he decided to wait on the front steps for a friend to come by but apparently grew tired of sitting. Around 4 PM, I got a call at the office from my son "Please don't be mad, please don't be mad.". I calmed him down and tried to figure out what was going on. From a neighbor I learned that she'd been driving through the town next to hours and had spotted Kid 2 strolling merrily along on the sidewalk in the middle of the town center. She stopped and asked him where he was going and he blithely replied "I'm just going for a walk". She scolded him, scooped him into the car and brought him home after a second stern lecture. He was terrified. Later when I asked him what had gone on in his brain, he said "my feet just kept on going, so I went with them." He knows now that his feet can only take him to the corner and no further...
Both of my kids have pretty good judgement...I think. My daughter tends to stand back and consider carefully what's going on before she acts. She wisely observes but does not participate in the inevitable catty comparison games that go on between her 11 year old peers. She enjoys school. My son hates school. Older relatives are often horrified to hear that he dislikes school. They seem to think that this has some far-reaching significance. However, all of his friends hate school--to a boy. They think it's a waste of time compared to chasing each other all over the playground and yelling things like "sinus erection" and "Ooga Googa". They hate sitting still and they dislike having to listen for what they consider long periods of time.
Maybe it's just my kids, but while my daughter seems to innately feel that teachers have interesting ideas to impart, my son views teachers as little more than game wardens. They keep the animals from causing too much damage to the school, to innocent bystanders and to themselves, but otherwise it's just a time sink. Lunch is a perfect example--my son eats his snack, drinks his chocolate milk and uses the rest of the time to kick and poke his friends. Eat? Why waste time? Life is short and school is long....
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