Dirty Little Secret: Parents Prefer Boys

Netscape (originally from Slate) ^ | 10/15 | Netscape

[Gerish]

Sorry to hear you find your mother a pain in the ass.

Being the mother of four children (two boys and two girls), all I can say is that they are all wonderful gifts and I could not even imagine life without any of them. I didn't care what sex they were when they were born nor should anyone. Curious - do you have any daughters or are you basing your comment on a bad experience?

[SevenDaysInMay]

Chickenhawks like full bath houses.

Playing 'little mommy' incest family secrets are getting more difficult to keep quiet.

Like Mo'ham' said, 'There are very few women in his paradise because women complain so much.' At least muslims' "honor killings" keep those shameful scurges of the earth from life and paradise.

Social Security wealth transfer schemes have yet to enhance the socialist paradise of VN among others.

[bethelgrad]

When my wife and I found out we were having our first child, I wanted a daughter. Two boys later, I wouldn't want it any other way. Overall I would be happy with either gender, however, I don't think I could handle dealing with "girl issues" during those adolescent years.

[GovernmentShrinker]

One cause is that most women are unprepared to support themselves and their children alone. This causes the men's gender preference to govern both the men's and women's choices re getting/staying married.

Another factor is undoubtedly that women know that boys are generally harder to raise and have poorer outcomes if there's no father present. As a result, many women may consciously decide to marry or stay married to men whom they would otherwise not marry or divorce, because they have a boy to raise.

[EagleMamaMT]

I am the mother of four sons. I would love to have a little less "physical" around here.

I have two boys that I have to keep separated most of the time because they fight like a cat and a dog tied up in a gunny sack. I would really like to have a few throw pillows on the couch that haven't been pounded into the shape of a football or basketball. The floors of our rooms are mine fields - not laced with bombs, but heavily infiltrated with Hot Wheels cars (which if you've ever stepped on one in the dark can make you explode as effectively as any bomb!) And my life is one long round of shuttling the boys to sporting events - summertime is baseball, winter is football and basketball. One of my friends one time said that my house has testosterone dripping off the walls, which is a pretty good description of a household with a father and four sons and only a mother for feminine balance.

I envy my friends with all girls. Their houses are, for the most part, neater, quieter and are more beautifully decorated. My decorating scheme is more "Guns and Ammo" than "House Beautiful".

Other than the fighting and general craziness, though, I don't really mind having a bunch of boys. They don't complain about hand-me-downs. In fact, they think it's neat to wear their older brothers' clothes and shoes. Wardrobe is cheaper, too. A couple of sweats, a few T-shirts and a couple of pairs of jeans. Hair care is cheap - take them all to the barber shop and tell him to run the clippers over their heads and leave about a half inch. Fancy shampoo? No way! A bar of soap is the "manly" choice. If their hair is short enough, they don't even have to comb it either!

I do feel like I'm missing out on a wonderful part of life by not having a daughter, though. I still pray that someday God will bless me with a baby girl, but unless I'm going to be a modern-day Sarah, time is running out!

[oprahstheantichrist]

"Does anyone know the Democrat Party position on a woman's right to choose to abort girls alone?"

I scream "WHERE ARE THE 'FEMINISTS?'" every time female infanticide in other cultures is discussed, but gosh, it doesn't get much news coverage, does it?

I put "feminists" in quotes because if they truly cared about the plight of women, they'd be over in China and India scooping up every abandoned baby girl for adoption by western couples on various ten-year waiting lists to adopt. They'd be working to put pressure on foreign governments to make the process easier and cheaper. They'd be founding orphanages in these cultures,and constanly fundraising to support them. They'd be seeking donations from formula and diaper companies, and seeking used clothing and toy donations to supply them till the girls were adopted. They'd have "Adopt a Baby Girl from China/India" ad campaigns.

But all they seem to care about is abortion on demand, any time up until birth. They're not real feminists, just man-hating abortion cheerleaders.

The only ones actually doing it are various church organizations. They're not well funded though, and don't get much publicity.

[laurav]

I know of one case where the couple split up after raising two daughters, and the man remarried, and is now happy with a younger wife and a new baby son. This is a case where raising a boy will probably keep them together.

But don't you think there's other couples in a mirror version of that situation? Some marriages work out and others don't, but I have a hard time believing the children's genders have much to do with it.

[laurav]

I think there are a lot of families in your situation -- all one gender, and the parents wishing for a bit of balance! So you'll see families with three boys and a girl, or three girls and then a boy ... mom and dad kept trying until they got what they wanted.

[T Minus Four]

You have a remarkable home page!

[VeritatisSplendor]

Maybe men are more fulfilled and less likely to seek divorce if they have sons. Or women with sons figure they need a man to raise them, so they don't get divorced.

As far as remarriage, the stepfather may be more of a threat to a daughter.

VS and I have been happily married for 21 years, with 2 boys and 2 girls.

I love my boys dearly but a deep longing was filled when I had my girls.

Mrs VS

[Gottwnz]

never quite understood that saying, but with twin boys we are blessed but my wife still wants the try for a daughter.

[Politicalmom]

I think that women are justifiably more nervous about bringing a "strange" man into a house with unrelated girls. If anything happens to my dear husband, I won't be seeking a remarriage. NO dating, nothing. My kids will be safer that way, and I have plenty of doting male relatives to fill in.

I feel guilty saying it, but I feel like God has given me three wonderful girls as payment for putting up with my oldest...a BOY!!!!

[EagleMamaMT]

Boys run in my husband's family. His mother had 7 boys before she had a girl. She then had a second girl, then my husband and his youngest brother. All told: 9 boys, 2 girls. Now, in the my side of the family, there were 4 girls, 3 boys. But, out of my parents' 10 grandchildren, 8 are boys, so it looks like boys are beginning to run in my side of the family as well.

Myself, I really wouldn't say I was trying for a girl (although my last couple of pregnancies I was praying mighty hard for one!). I just always wanted a large family and my husband did, too. I'd be perfectly happy to have another one or two, if the Good Lord is willing.

[Britton J Wingfield]

The more daughters a couple has, the greater the chance of a marital split.

That is directly tied to bathroom usage.