Posted on 07/15/2004 7:20:55 PM PDT by Tax-chick
Since Bobby is 7 years older than Joey, I also told Joey he could hit his brother. Bobby is an instigator, too. He needles Joey until he either gets furious and throws things at Bobby or bursts into tears only to be told what a "baby" he is.
I have threatened to crack their heads together more than once. At least they have learned to take off their eyeglasses before they start wrestling.
LOL - my boys don't wear glasses, yet. Billy (2-1/2 years older) is taller, and Tom is heavier, so they're evenly matched. I figure we'll get identical results in about 5 years with Patrick and James.
I keep warning Bobby that Joey is going to be bigger than him eventually and if he's still pulling this kind of stuff, Joey is going to mop the floor with him.
I've been telling Josie that about the boys for years, but the way things are going, she may be out of the house before either of them gets big enough to stomp her. They could do it together, but I think I'd have to stop it, even though they have justification ...
A "gender difference" sticking point, there ... would I stop Elen and Sally from beating up Tom? Given that our children fighting one another is suboptimal (as it were), is it worse for two boys to beat up a girl than for two girls to beat up a boy?
I'm 2 1/2 years older than my brother and he was really being a pest when we were playing Monopoly once and, me gentle soul that I was, belted him right in the mouth.
Of course, I had neglected to remember that my dad was home that day.
(Bobby just came down and announced that he wants a Tasar. Argh!)
I grew up with 2 brothers (no sisters). The only problem is that my son is not like my brothers. They were very sports oriented: football, baseball, hunting, fishing.
My son is a computer geek (much like his mother and father).
However, he needs that boy outlet, and I don't know how to give it to him.
He does love the outdoors (camping). Unfortunately, you can't let kids run wild like we did when we were little. We do try to go camping every year, and we go hiking around the parks at our home. My girls also love the outdoors.
I would like to get my son involved in something at school, and it is very hard to find something non-sports (and not too girly). He's only 9, so things will change. I'm trying to convince that he should be in the band, but he doesn't like that idea. We got him a digital camera last year, and he likes that. So I'm hoping when he's in middle school and high school he can do yearbook or the school newpaper. I just don't want a kid that is totally into computers and nothing else.
One of the things that I notice that is different with my son than my 2 girls is that they play gently with toys.
My son would play dolls with my daughters when they were younger. They have this playhouse. My son would take the baby doll and put it in the oven and say the grandmother was evil. Then the boy dolls were always some sort of super hero saving the other dolls. There would always be some sort of fighting going on.
My daughters will also sit and do art work (crafts, writing, drawing) for hours. They'll sit still and do their homework. Kids can be in our house, the computer and the TV can be going on, and my daughters can focus on what they are doing.
My son gets so easily distracted. He can't sit still for long. Homework is a battle. He's been tested for ADD, but he actually has a longer than average attention span. He does focus for school and especially for tests (Thank God).
Maybe he could do something computer-oriented for a sports league or school team ... graphics for advertising, or scorekeeping, or statistical stuff? (My mother was a scorekeeper for Little League, back in pencil-and-paper days.) If he was doing something in the sports "area," and got to know the adults and children involved, he might want to play. Boys do need lots of exercise!
My twin girls are almost 8, so please don't tell me that.
That's why I was thinking the camera was good. He could become the sports photographer.
Interesting topic!
I grew up with only girls so my first child being a boy was a huge change for me. He was (and still is) very active. I'd say physical activity levels are diferent, my daughter is active too, but not in such a daredevil way.
He needs more attention than she does, she is content to play by herself for a long time, although this could be because he is older and had us to himself for a couple of years.
My daughter is much more complaint and agreeable than my son, but I suspect that's not a gender difference so much as a personality difference.
When my son was around two, my husband and I were waiting on base to get new ID cards and our little boy was climbing over and under the empty chairs. We sighed at this, trying to get him to settle down, even though he wasn't annoying anyone but us, and a lady sitting near us with her teenage daughter said "honey, I'd rather raise 10 boys than one girl!!
So perhaps the tables will turn when they become teens!
I already see in my six year old daughter the psychodrama between girlfriends that you hardly ever see with boys. Who is friends with who and all that.
My son had a birthday party to which he invited a group of school friends and one kid from his soccer team who didn't go to his school. I was a little worried about the teammate fitting in, but when he showed up, my son introduced him, the guys all said "hey" and they all went on their merry way.
I was without a husband for nearly two years as he went overseas to fight the war on terror. My kids did great, but I struggled to be sure my son's development was not adversely affected. I'm a big reader and found that Dr. Dobson's book "Bringing Up Boys" is an excellent resource, if anyone needs a little extra input on relating to the boys (as females we might need some help).
Take care ladies...the kids are at camp today and I'm going to float in the pool and read my new Patricia Cornwell book! ;-) GG
lots of suggestions today... here is my story, and I promise to keep it short :)
I have 3 kids, Tricia born 9/6/90, than Jeff, 10/24/91, than Veronica, 2/16/93. See a trend here... I had 3 kids in diapers for 9 months while my husband was an OTR truck driver.
I know that girls are harder. I swear my daughters fight about everything just to get me mad. Now that one is a teen ager, the baby is angry that Tricia gets to do things that she cant do. The fussing at each other drives me nuts!!
My son has Aspergers syndrome also known as pervasive develepental disorder. He has been a handful, but with alot of work, and therapy, and love, he is reasonably normal at this point. he is still antisocial, but he trys so hard, and gets along better with little kids. He is the good kid.
There is a difference with boys and girls. I have neices and nephews, and boys for the most part are easier... so much simpler :) I hear men say they dont understand women, hey, I am a woman, and I dont understand me too.
I am just lucky I have what I have. It was not easy when the kids were small, taking care of everything all by myself, but I survived it, and thought it would get easier... NOT :)
Kiki
Your baby is beautiful. I remember from last week her name is Evie? That is the name of my very first baby doll. Despite the fact she must be 30 years old and in awful shape, I still have her in a special box which moves with me everywhere!
You might wish to try the Baby Sling for her. It's different than the Snugli which goes on your chest but the baby's arms and legs hang out. The Sling goes around your back and she can snuggle right in. If you nurse, it's great to maintain privacy and she can sit in there and nurse too. I didn't use it as much with my first child but my second was in it all the time, as I needed my hands free for my other little one by that point. As she gets older, you can use it to keep her on your hip with legs out if you wish. It's really versatile.
It's kind of a groovy granola thing but I loved it!
That's a great idea! Your son sounds like my older one (10). He's very distractable, unless he's building something.
I've had a sling since the second baby, and it's very useful. I used it a couple of weeks ago with James, but he weighs 20 lbs. and my back hurt the rest of the day; I guess I didn't have it balanced just right. I'll try it again next Tuesday when we'll be poll-watching (all 8 of us!).
I wish I had a pool ...
I think it's easier to understand the girls, because I was one ... I can tell what my 13-year-old is thinking, and I know what she's doing in her room before I open the door.
I'm impressed that you managed 3 in diapers by yourself! I have a hard time when I've just got the younger ones at home; fortunately that doesn't happen too often!
--I can tell what my 13-year-old is thinking, and I know what she's doing in her room before I open the door. --
Thank GOD for that second set of eyes that emerge just after giving birth to the first child. Makes my oldest sooooo mad when I know what shes doing, and she was trying so hard to hid it hehehehe
3 kids in diapers at the time seemed so hard, but boy, it taught me a lesson, you can be mooned all day long, and still... you survive :)
Boys will be boys --- they are just more aggressive in a boy way. Girls tattle tell more. Sibling rivalry... is what you get whenever you add more than one kid to the mix. Whether they are siblings or not.
When You Feel Like Screaming: Help for Frustrated Mothers, by Pat Holt, is a really good book. It is as old as dirt, but full of good info. I also really liked Dobsons book about raising sons.
When I was expecting my youngest, my girlfriend also became pregnant----with triplets! (I told her she was a show-off.) She had a one year old at the time the, as well as a five and a four year old. All girls! For several years she had four babies in diapers.
I would call, you really couldn't visit her, it was too much with all her babies and mine, too, and sometimes she would just bawl, "All I do is laundry!"
Wow! We have a family with triplets in our parish; they seem reasonably sane. And two of my friends back in OK have six boys and a girl each!
I do laundry constantly, it seems ... maybe I could start a business - couple of extra washer and dryers in the garage, big ironing table ...
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