Trucks or Tutus, Pink or Blue

In the days of Beaver Cleaver and Samantha Stephens, boys wore blue, girls wore pink, boys played as firemen, and girls were housewives.  Today, those lines are not as hard and fast, and most of us know preschool-aged boys who might wear a towel over their heads, so they seem to have long hair or have chosen tutus or pink ballet shoes to wear to school.  There is nothing wrong with children exploring what has traditionally been deemed “boy” or “girl,” but like it or not, there are scientific differences between boys and girls that can help guide the way we teach them and what we can expect from them.

While both have similarities, they each have distinct differences that ultimately influence who they become later in life. Despite our individual opinions and beliefs, as adults, it should be our number one priority to ensure we are providing every tool necessary for all children to live successful, satisfying, and purposeful lives.

When it comes to boys, they are often mischaracterized and seen as loud, rambunctious, and destructive. While this may not be entirely false, they are frequently misunderstood and mislabeled. First, let’s begin by diving into what makes a boy, well…a boy! This starts even before birth, and if you guessed hormones, you’re already off to the races. Hormones play an essential role in how our brains develop and are shaped. As you may have learned in science class, males have the hormone testosterone, which influences their brain development as early as the second trimester. Some studies have shown that higher levels of prenatal testosterone can be linked to increased levels of physical activity and reduced empathy. (this can be true for girls too!)

However, this isn’t always the case. It has also been discovered that baby boys tend to be more emotionally reactive than baby girls, and cry easier. They are incredibly empathetic, but they don’t express it the way girls do. Boys prefer to demonstrate their empathy through their actions, such as wanting to solve problems or offer solutions, which is why they typically excel at problem-solving.

This leads to the second difference between boys and girls- play time! Boys typically gravitate towards vehicles, construction toys, and action figures.  They are more physically risky, have better spatial awareness and prefer more structural based thinking.  Boys tend to prefer play in larger groups where there is a clear hierarchical system.  And boys typically enjoy more challenging and competition based games.

The third difference between boys and girls is the structure of the brain. Boys have a larger cerebellum than girls, which allows for better sensory perception, coordination and motor control. They can see better in bright lighting, and have clearer vision and more developed depth perception. In addition, boys have higher levels of spinal fluid, so the messaging between the brain and body happens faster than that of girls. When it comes to language, their frontal lobe develops later and has less blood flow, resulting in fewer verbal communication skills than girls and their limbic systems have fewer connections to the verbal processing areas of the brain so boys have a more difficult time using their descriptive language skills and react more slowly to verbal stress and high emotional situations. Overall, their brains function on blood flow that is 15% less than that of girls, and they have more grey matter, which makes multitasking more challenging. Despite this, their brains can revert to a rest state between tasks, allowing them to recharge more easily than girls.

The takeaway: there’s more to a boy than what meets the eye!