[alisasny]

topic idea for future: how to handle sibling rivalry.

My kids boy 12 and girl 8 are constantly fighting and bickering sometimes physical. I almost am at the breaking point.

Anyway having a boy and girl the differences are very clear. My daughters best friend is a tomboy though and that is cause for concern. The little girl has no feminine qualities. She is a year older age 9 and we are hoping that they part as friends soon but right now I help the girls mother a lot by watching her.

I am always at odds with my daughter age 8 but my son age 12 is a gem. I dont have a favorite but right now I like my son much more. He is kind and giving etc things my daughter just is not yet. She is mean and can be vindictive and is very impulsive. All things my son was at same age so I can only hope she grows out of it all. She has her moments though, like last week she asked me "How do you throw away a garbage can?" LOL

[Tax-chick]

Eight is a very tough age. It seems like each child goes through a mean and rotten phase at that age. There's probably some threshold of mental development that's reached, and it takes a year or so to "clear up." I definitely recall that my oldest daughter (now 13) was impossible at 8 ... and you know it must have been bad if I think 13 is better :-).

[grellis]

I was a TOTAL tomboy growing up. I was very into horses, which is sorta "girlie," but not in a way that other girls my age were into horses. They all got cute riding clothes and took lessons at the local stables. I was never able to pay for lessons so I cleaned out stalls in exchange for them. Almost all of my friends were boys. I wouldn't worry too much about the 9-year old having influence on your daughter--I would keep an eye out on the parents. If they are liberal-minded, there's always the chance that they will see their daughter's tomboyishness as a sign of budding lesbian tendencies. Most of the time--dare I say all of the time?--a tomboy is just a tomboy.

Thank God my parents never saw me that way. Could you imagine being told to "explore your sexuality" at the age of nine??? Yikes!