…quite anxious, needy and delicate?
I have children of both sexes, so have been on quite a few play dates with parents who have boys and girls. I’ve noticed that in the same way some parents dismiss their sons’ unacceptable behaviour as ‘boys will be boys’, some of the parents almost encourage their little girls to be ‘delicate’ in a way they don’t with their sons.
They rush to make a huge fuss of them if they fall over (even if the daughter seems absolutely fine), they always ask ‘awww are you ok?’ if they look anything less than totally happy, they carry them around for far longer than they did their sons, and generally seem to teach them that if they act in an anxious or delicate way they will be rewarded with cuddles and attention. By comparison the boys are brushed off and are encouraged to ‘get back out there and play’. The girls then seem to get trapped in a cycle of being a bit sullen and unhappy as they know it will be met with concern and protectiveness.
I know MN hates are stereotype so please note I said ‘some’, I know it isn’t all or even most. It’s just something I’ve noticed recently and thought it would be interesting to discuss as normally we just talk about preferential treatment of boys.