Hellobee Boards Topic: "Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"

Hellobee Boards Topic: "Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers" https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 03 May 2026 12:05:45 +0000 Mrs. Jacks on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-862415 Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:00:18 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 862415@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @honeybear: well said! 808love on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-862403 Mon, 17 Jun 2013 08:52:22 +0000 808love 862403@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Interesting thread! I've read that toddler boys typically lag in language skills, compared to girls, so maybe that's why their behavior suffers. My little girl is such a firecracker, she puts many toddler boys to shame though. They can barely keep up with her energy. I can only imagine what will happen in teenage years. By the time they hit elementary school I think personality overrides for awhile. Then everyone has different kinds issues in middle/high school. I was a super good girl when I was young but not so nice through puberty. Mrs. Fox on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-861448 Sun, 16 Jun 2013 13:44:29 +0000 Mrs. Fox 861448@https://boards.hellobee.com/ The little girls I know seem more socially complex than the boys I know. I can imagine that makes them "easier" to teach. The boys I know seem like they have more energy and enthusiasm. Pink Champagne on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-861262 Sun, 16 Jun 2013 10:12:41 +0000 Pink Champagne 861262@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I definitely agree with this. It all stems from the fact that teenage girls have a lot harder time dealing with all of the hormones and social pressures than boys- you can say "Oh, no I was a precious angel all through my teenage years," but I will never believe you, and I bet your own mother won't either. Girls are terrible as teenagers, so much attitude! I know I was. HLK208 on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-861191 Sun, 16 Jun 2013 09:07:57 +0000 HLK208 861191@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I kind of agree based on B's preschool class. Honestly, the girl's in his class are a little mean while the boys are just wild. All boys and girls are different though so it doesn't have to be true. sorrycharlie on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-861190 Sun, 16 Jun 2013 09:07:53 +0000 sorrycharlie 861190@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I absolutely think it depends on the kid. that said, 4 year old girls can be hellish. and my brother was a saint. so...I think it's a generalization. honeybear on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-861067 Sun, 16 Jun 2013 06:37:57 +0000 honeybear 861067@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I heard this too. I've got a toddler boy, and yes, he has a TON of energy, but he's able to channel it well (for a 2yo!), so it's not a problem. He also generally pays attention to us. I don't think he's particularly 'hard' to parent. He's my chief data point on this subject, though! I think the statement is a bit unfair to both boys and girls. I definitely see non-physical differences between boys and girls even at age 2-3, so I don't dispute that as a general matter, there are likely to be differences in the teen years, but I think the 'easy'/'hard' distinction is problematic. If you're really into running around, sports, and 'rough housing'-type play, little boys may seem like a cakewalk to you. If you want your little boy to sit still and play quietly, you could feel that they have too much energy, and that's a 'problem'. I feel like the 'who's hardest' observation is more a reflection of the adult speaker's expectations than the children. Dandelion on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-861056 Sun, 16 Jun 2013 06:20:12 +0000 Dandelion 861056@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Personally, I've seen that in Kindergarten, the girls in DS's class were much easier to deal with on field trips than the boys. Also, my brothers were jerks in middle school. But...I was awful when I hit puberty, too. I think it depends on the kid, but I think everyone goes crazy when they hit middle school to some extent. BananaPancakes on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-861053 Sun, 16 Jun 2013 06:08:28 +0000 BananaPancakes 861053@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I think my mother would agree that toddler boys and teenagers girls are more difficult. Of course, she had twin boys, so they had each other to feed off of, which may have helped make them more rowdy. But my mom has said multiple times that the day her girls (3 of us) turned 13, was the day we all lost our minds. My youngest sister is 18 and I'm pretty sure they can't wait for her to move out. My teenage brothers are super easy and vey loving. loveisstrange on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-861027 Sun, 16 Jun 2013 03:35:07 +0000 loveisstrange 861027@https://boards.hellobee.com/ With my experience within my own family, not true. My oldest brother was easy all around. My middle brother was really tough all around. My boy cousins pretty much stayed the same (good one stayed good, jerk one stayed a jerk). I think it really just dependson the personality of the kid. mrsjazz on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-860926 Sat, 15 Jun 2013 22:34:08 +0000 mrsjazz 860926@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I've always thought the opposite of what your friend thinks, but I don't have years of experience working with kids. I will have to ask DH what he thinks since he works with high school kids. My mom has 2 boys and 2 girls and she said that my sister and I were easier on her than my brother's...and that's for our entire childhoods. As far as when they're toddlers I notice that the boys are rougher with play but other than that they don't seem like more trouble. Personally, I would rather raise girls than boys because I feel like girls are easier (but not easy) for a host of reasons. immabeetoo on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-860902 Sat, 15 Jun 2013 22:18:17 +0000 immabeetoo 860902@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @mrbee: Gotcha. In my observations, I'd rather deal with boys in general overall than girls, as a Mom. I don't see any real difference in ease when younger, but I know far more girls who had a tense relationship with their Moms until they went to college than boys. My Mom often bemoans that my brother would happily go anywhere with them whereas my sister and I treated them like lepers when we were teens. kjpugs on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-860893 Sat, 15 Jun 2013 22:09:44 +0000 kjpugs 860893@https://boards.hellobee.com/ In all my experience with family and babysitting and friends' kids, that's true. That's what terrifies me about having boys. Being around my twin 2 year old cousins gives me chest pains!! (Not that girls are a piece of cake!) And I agree that girls start to be crazzzzy in middle school or so!!! yoursilverlining on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-860889 Sat, 15 Jun 2013 22:07:50 +0000 yoursilverlining 860889@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I think boys are generally easier because boys fight and act out in fairly straight forward ways. Girls are nasty to each other in quieter, more psychological ways, which is harder to combat from the outside. This is of course older ages, not toddlers. mrbee on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-860888 Sat, 15 Jun 2013 22:06:57 +0000 mrbee 860888@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @scg00387: True, society definitely plays a role! But this post is more about her thoughts, which are grounded in her own observations... so was wondering what everyone's own observations (counter-observations?) were like! autumnlove on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-860884 Sat, 15 Jun 2013 22:06:07 +0000 autumnlove 860884@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I was an easy child and I was a bit of a handful as a teenager. My brother had been a dream since birth. immabeetoo on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-860871 Sat, 15 Jun 2013 21:55:55 +0000 immabeetoo 860871@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @mrbee: I've said as much on different threads but I think that some of it could have to do with what parents expect from and consequently encourage in each gender. It'd be impossible to determine how much is inherent vs. taught. Working as a nanny and childcare provider it seemed like time and time again I'd hear from the parents, in front of the kids, explaining/excusing that their girl was "such a drama queen" and their boy was "all rough and tumble". It's all over kids apparel, in book plots, on TV shows. I can't imagine that none of it is internalized! googly-eyes on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-860865 Sat, 15 Jun 2013 21:51:37 +0000 googly-eyes 860865@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @LittleFox: I think if you look at it in the context of a male dominated society, there's a good reason for the frustration/hurt/anger that teen girls display. Just my two cents. :P Mrs. Jacks on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-860859 Sat, 15 Jun 2013 21:42:57 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 860859@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I don't know. I think the teen years are hard for everyone. I'm not like most people who dread the teen years. I've done a fair amount of adolescent medicine and really appreciate how important the developmental stage is and will be excited to see my girls individuating and finding their own way in the world. I have a fair number of friends with teens and I wouldn't say that the boys are particularly easier. They may internalize the angst a little more, but that actually scares me a little. What don't I know about? mrbee on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-860841 Sat, 15 Jun 2013 21:28:11 +0000 mrbee 860841@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @LittleFox: Normally if someone said casually something like this, I would totally agree that it was a sexist observation... but there are two reasons I'm not so sure here. First, she works directly with hundreds of kids a year... multiply that by decades of experience, and that's thousands of kids. Also, she's a real feminist who has mentioned multiple books and authors/thinkers core to the feminist movement... and in my interactions with her, she's not prone to making sexist generalizations. So for those reasons, this seemed to be an observation based on her own observation over years and years... it definitely wasn't a flippant throwaway statement based on sexist assumptions. I really respect her as a therapist and a feminist, which is why I've been thinking about her comment so much since she mentioned it. shopaholic on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-860834 Sat, 15 Jun 2013 21:25:33 +0000 shopaholic 860834@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Just from observations, I would say yes to the younger years. All the boys are much more rambunctious and balls of energy! I think it's common to say teenage girls are "harder", but more because parents have all these fears (i.e. sex, boyfriends, predators, etc.) AND it's true female hormones are nuts! But behaviorally, I think it can be a toss up. My sister and I were both still really well-behaved as teens, and our brother was still, if not worse, trouble-maker into his teens! LittleFox on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-860829 Sat, 15 Jun 2013 21:22:13 +0000 LittleFox 860829@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I also think it depends on the kid. I was easier than my brothers as a toddler and as a teen, because I was just always easygoing. I actually think this view is kind of sexist. It seems to be related to the "women are hormonal" and "women are emotional" tropes, in saying that basically girls are so much harder once all those hormones affect their emotions and turn them crazy. Boys, on the other hand, get this good story where they learn to control their excess energy. So girls spin out of control while boys gain self control, which I don't believe is actually true. googly-eyes on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-860822 Sat, 15 Jun 2013 21:20:11 +0000 googly-eyes 860822@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I'm not exactly sure about toddlers, but in young children (4+) I'd say yes, the boys are harder to deal with, particularly in formal/school settings. Just speaking from my experience...based off of probably about 200-250 children. I also would agree that girls are more difficult to parent as teenagers, but I just think girls are dealing with more than boys at that age. lomom on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-860809 Sat, 15 Jun 2013 21:13:29 +0000 lomom 860809@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I was definitely the harder child as a kid. My brother was the harder kid as a teen. matador84 on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-860803 Sat, 15 Jun 2013 21:11:00 +0000 matador84 860803@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I think it is tough to say. I have taught middle school for 8 years and some years we have groups of boys who are much harder to discipline than girls, and every once and a while we get a wave of girls who are much harder to discipline than boys. I can't say for toddlers...I only have a little bit of experience in that stage. heffalump on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-860781 Sat, 15 Jun 2013 20:54:15 +0000 heffalump 860781@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I think it just depends on the kid. When I was pregnant with lo we went to see dhs cousins and their kids. First was 2 boys. It was scary, they were so crazy, and even threw a ball at my belly! I was terrified of having a child. But then we went to see his other cousin with 3 boys. They were perfect angels. mrbee on ""Boys are harder than girls when they're young, but girls make up for it when they're teenagers"" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/boys-are-harder-than-girls-when-theyre-young-but-girls-make-up-for-it-when-theyre-teenagers#post-860777 Sat, 15 Jun 2013 20:50:45 +0000 mrbee 860777@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We have a friend who does occupational therapy with kids, and she said that without a doubt, boys tend to be less well-behaved than girls when they're toddlers. But that most girls make up for it later, when they hit puberty. I've been thinking about what she said ever since, because she works closely with hundreds of kids a year... so she definitely has lots of experiences to generalize from! But I'm generally really careful of generalizing based on gender, so I'm not sure what to think. I have a lot less data points than her, but I have noticed that the girls that Charlie hangs out with tend to be much better behaved than the boys he hangs out with. We don't have nearly enough friends to draw any definitive conclusions though... What do you think... are girls better behaved than boys when they're toddlers? What about as teenagers: who is more trouble... boys or girls?