Posted on 10/15/2003 8:37:41 AM PDT by laurav
Dirty Little Secret: Parents Prefer Boys
It's a dirty little secret that you'll want to hide from your daughters: Boys hold their parents' marriages together, while girls break them up.
That's the word from two leading economists at the University of Rochester and the University of California, Los Angeles who maintain that in the United States the parents of a girl are nearly 5 percent more likely to divorce than the parents of a boy, reports Slate magazine. The more daughters a couple has, the greater the chance of a marital split. For example, the parents of three girls are almost 10 percent more likely to divorce than the parents of three boys.
And the risk of divorce climbs even higher in other countries, including Mexico, Colombia, and Kenya. In Vietnam, the chance of divorce for parents of daughters is a surprisingly high 25 percent.
The big question is WHY? Economists Gordon Dahl of Rochester and Enrico Moretti of UCLA have been positing theories, and it pretty much comes down to these two, they told Slate:
Theory No. 1: Sons improve the quality of married life, which suggests that having a son is a blessing.
Theory No. 2: Sons exacerbate the pain of divorce, which suggests that having a son is a curse--or at least would be if the parents split up.
And here's the real shocker: Dahl and Moretti insist that American parents have a strong preference for sons over daughters. This is the evidence they offer:
Mothers of daughters who are divorced are far less likely to remarry than divorced mothers of sons, suggesting that daughters are a liability.
Parents who have only girls are more likely than parents who have only boys to try yet again for a child of the opposite gender.
When an unmarried couple is expecting a baby, they are more likely to get married if the ultrasound shows that the child is a boy.
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But if He decides to give daughters to me, I guess I'll just have to keep trying until rdb4 arrives. If there's an rdb5, that'll be his business...
You say that now, but wait until you have a daughter. They can be papa's pride and joy.
My grandparents had 8 girls and they never divorced .. but then again, Papa did died first
Hmmmm .. I have all girls, I guess my marriage is DOOMED
What is the margin of error in the study?
Also, I find it hard to believe that the gender of the children is a material factor given other factors such as religious practice, economic situation, prior beliefs about divorce, etc.
BTW, I have four daughters and my wife and I are doing just fine, thank you.
I just could not resist posting these.........
If you pull into my driveway and honk you'd better be delivering a pizza, because you're sure not picking anything up.
You do not touch my daughter in front of me. You may glance at her, so long as you do not peer at anything below her neck. If you cannot keep your eyes or hands off of my daughter's body, I will remove them.
I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips. Please don't take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded about this issue, so I propose this compromise: You may come to the door with your underwear showing and your pants ten sizes too big, and I will not object. However, In order to ensure that your clothes do not, in fact, come off during the course of your date with my daughter, I will take my electric nail gun and fasten your trousers securely in place to your waist.
I'm sure you've been told that in today's world, sex without utilizing a "barrier method" of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate: when it comes to sex with my daughter, I am the barrier, and I will kill you.
In order for us to get to know each other, we should talk about sports, politics, and other issues of the day. Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an indication of when you expect to have my daughter safely back at my house, and the only word I need from you on this subject is "early."
I have no doubt you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to date other girls. This is fine with me as long as it is okay with my daughter. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my little girl, you will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you. If you make her cry, I will make you cry.
As you stand in my front hallway, waiting for my daughter to appear, and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My daughter is putting on her makeup, a process that can take longer than painting the Golden Gate Bridge. Instead of just standing there, why don't you do something useful, like changing the oil in my car?
The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter: Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool. Places where there are no parents, policemen, or nuns within eyesight. Places where there is darkness. Places where there is dancing, holding hands, or happiness. Places where the ambient temperature is warm enough to induce my daughter to wear shorts, tank tops, midriff T-shirts, or anything other than overalls, a sweater, and a goose down parka zipped up to her throat. Movies with a strong romantic or sexual theme are to be avoided; movies that feature chainsaws are okay. Hockey games are okay. Old folks homes are better.
Do not lie to me. I may appear to be a pot-bellied, balding, middle-aged, dim-witted has-been. But on issues relating to my daughter, I am like the all-knowing God of your universe. If I ask you where you are going and with whom, you have one chance to tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I have a shotgun, a shovel, and five acres behind the house. Do not trifle with me.
Be afraid. Be very afraid. It takes very little for me to mistake the sound of your car in the driveway for a chopper coming in over a rice paddy outside of Hanoi. When my Agent Orange starts acting up, the voices in my head frequently tell me to clean the guns as I wait for you to bring my daughter home. As soon as you pull into the driveway you should exit your car with both hands in plain sight. Speak the perimeter password, announce in a clear voice that you have brought my daughter home safely and early, then return to your car - there is no need for you to come inside. The camouflaged face at the window is mine.
Tonto: Proud Father of one boy. One and done.
I understand what you are saying. For instance, I have three nieces in whom I love dearly. The youngest is three, and I adore that little girl.
I am the reason that I don't want daughters. I know how I was as a teen, so the thought of having to protect my own daughter from that frightens me.
I only have a daughter, guess I'm in the same boat!!!
OTOH, my ex had 3 sons from his first marriage.
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