by Nadia Ghanny

Created on: December 23, 2007   Last Updated: March 21, 2011

REVISED MARCH 20TH, 2011:

Raising either gender one experiences difficulties but never the less it should be a gratifying and memorable experience for parents and caregivers. I have raised two nephews ages one and 12 and a niece age nine during the eighties and can express that it was a lot easier raising my two nephews.

It may have been the fact I was not the parent and had limited knowlege about parenting skills, which formed the perspective I had at that time. Although I was the aunt I did manage to reinforce discipline and respect though it was not a problem for my nephews it was for my niece.

Neurobiologists have often postulated differences in hormones with the genders, as they evolve into adulthood. However, society has created differences of its own. Such differences include the socialization stereotypes we see in society between boys and girls. This includes girls are cute and more adorable; and boys are rough and tough. Such is an example of one such stereotype society has managed to create.

Another fact is the physical attributes in girls, which projects a sense of femaleness. Therefore, parents tend to have different rearing approachs for girls than boys. It has also been a stereotype girls are fragile in comparison to boys and a lot more emotional. In addition, it has been declared that girls progressed a lot quicker than boys in the area of emotional awareness and cognition. As such we take a different approach between the genders.

Furthermore, girls are said to be very demanding for attention and things, my niece, a stubborn persona and extremely manipulative and jealous if more attention was given to my nephews. Albeit this observation not all females possess such pre-dispositions however speaking in a general context, it can be alleged that it would be easier to raise boys than girls. This assertion stands at present because of the creation of the stereotypes we have embellished on gender orientation.

I discovered with my nephews they were not as time consuming as raising my niece and they adhered to the rules of the home a lot better. My niece often wanted to be the centre of attention but my nephews were mostly shy and occupied themselves with games and outdoor activities. Instead with my niece I had to be extremely creative when indulging in a sense of play, which also adds to the theory that girls socialize differently than boys.

This can be attributed to the fact that society has created this disparity when it comes to raising the two genders. If we can overcome this disparity as parents and caregivers, there would cease to exist the debate whether it's easier to raise boys versus girls.

Such a disparity can be dissolved by dismantling the stereotypes. This can be accomplished by educating ourselves with information and resources and to focus less on the differences and more on the similarities and strenghts of our children.

Learn more about this author, Nadia Ghanny.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.