It happened again, as it most certainly will continue to happen for the rest of my life. I received someone else’s opinion about the “tragedy” of having all boys as children. The thing is, I’ve heard it so often now that I have gotten to the point where I just shrug it off to ignorance or difference of opinion. After all, I am so grateful and happy with an all boys team. But sometimes, I can’t help but wonder if maybe I am missing out because I don’t have a daughter. Not because I actually feel that way, but because every other person makes it their point to tell me that I am. Maybe they know something that I don’t? After all, I only have boys, so that’s all I know. Maybe having a girl would be a different experience in parenting. Maybe it would be a different type of love. I don’t actually feel that way, but maybe I should according to almost everyone out there.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Mostly it’s all well-intending family members, friends and strangers (yes, even strangers have an opinion about my children’s gender). Which is why I often brush it off. But sometimes, someone says something to me that just strikes a chord and I can’t let it go. That is exactly what happened this past week when I was out with a group of friends. As it often occurs, conversation among parents inevitably turn to our kids. My friend (but not a close one), has three kids as well, approximately the same age as my kids except her oldest two oldest are boys, and the youngest is a girl. She mentioned how parenting her girl is SO DIFFERENT compared to parenting the boys. And while she didn’t come out and say it in these words, she meant that it’s BETTER! She assumed that because I have all boys, I wouldn’t understand what she meant (which is true), so she clarified the difference to me:<\/p>\n

\n
• Her daughter is so affectionate and loving (compared to her sons)<\/li>\n
• Her daughter plays well independently (compared to her sons who don’t)<\/li>\n
• Her daughter is the center of attention of her brothers who worry and look out for her and often don’t fight with her (but the boys are constantly fighting)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  <\/p>\n

  I wanted to shout out from the top of my lungs and say – that’s exactly like my Nate! My youngest is just like your youngest! She attributes these parenting differences to the fact that it’s because she has a daughter, she never considered the fact that perhaps the differences are due to the fact that her daughter is the youngest (aka the baby) or that it’s just her personality. She just assumed. She didn’t even bother to ask me if it’s the same with my three kids to see if my youngest is different too. She just assumed that it was a gender difference and the worst part is that she felt bad for me. I could see it in her eyes, and I sensed it in her tone. Yes, I’m assuming too, but I’ve heard these phrases, quickly followed by “but of course it wouldn’t matter if I had all three boys…” enough times to know what she really felt and thought.<\/p>\n

  <\/p>\n

  I guess, when I consider it, if nothing more, it makes me realize that I’m not missing out on not having a daughter. So perhaps next time I see her, I will thank her. Thank her for pointing out the obvious – parenting boys is just as wonderful and special as parenting girls!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  It happened again, as it most certainly will continue to happen for the rest of my life. I received someone else’s opinion about the “tragedy” of having all boys as children. The thing is, I’ve heard it so often now that I have gotten to the point where I just shrug it off to ignorance […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12879,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"My friend told me that parenting her daughter must be different than parenting my son. Here's why she's wrong! https:\/\/wp.me\/p3dEqj-3lv #momlife #momtruths #boymom","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5309],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-12865","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-parenting","8":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n