Do you agree girls mature faster than boys ? I think it’s bollocks

[JennyTals]

Just so much more is expected from girls

Girls mature.

Thats a complete sentence.

As do boys.

The assumption seems to be that if girls mature earlier than boys then it demonstrates some failing in boys.

When it could be said that demanding that girls give up childish things and ape the adults around them, robs them of something important and essential.

It's not a failing in boys, or a strength in girls. it's a biological difference between the sexes. At adolescence one half of the brain enlarges, and it's a different side for the sexes meaning that girls grow up first. It's just biology, look it up.

Maybe more adulting is piled on girls early because they are just better at it because of this biological fact - however unfair that might be.

I'm only 3 years into having kids so my experience is limited but the boys the same age as my daughter were miles behind, whereas the girls were about the same or slightly ahead of her.

You notice this even with toddlers. The boys are more often the ones having emotional meltdowns and wanting mum. All toddlers do, I know, but ime especially the boys.

I do think a large contributing factor is what is expected of them. Much more maturity expected from girls and when they don't comply they don't get to use the excuse boys will be boys.

I do agree biology is part of it. Particularly with the brain development that comes with puberty. But it's not all that's going in there.

I can think if a couple grown men with less maturity I've seen in some teen girls because it's not been expected of them where I know teens who are child carers with massive responsibility. I know one teen boy carer, well he's in his 20s now- he was always massively more mature than his peers. Lovely lovely lad. He matured because he had to and I think that had more impact than his biology personally

I’m with you. I think the only reason girls mature faster is because they’re expected to. And boys are expected to be feral so they mature our little slower. Even down to the toys that they give them when the small so girls get babies boys get cars shows the difference in style and standards when it comes to parenting children.

Definitely - girls start pulling away at about 2/3 - way before puberty. I don't think boys catch up until about 25.

Friends have a boy and a girl, girl is older by 2.5 years.

There is definitely a difference in development. And the expectations at home for both are the same, they are parented the same, they have the same standard for behaviour. There is no "boys will be boys" or "girls should behave more ladylike"

They are now nearly 15 and 17.5, by now the boy is starting to catch up on the developmental behaviour the girl already had at this age.

Even a friend with boy/girl twins reported the same.

Definitely.

One very simple observation:
If you mispronounce my name you can just about tell that it might have a sound a little like a minorly "naughty" word.
I have never had a girl point this out. It has been pointed out at many times in my life from boys aged about 7yo to 24yo.
It wasn't even remotely funny when I was 7yo too.

Absolutely, I believe that girls tend to mature more quickly than boys, I don't think this means 20 year old men should be able to date 14 year old teen girls though. I also have wondered if at a certain stage, women plateau and hold on to a more dependent quality and thus are less assertive and agentic in certain aspects compared to men.

I think they do, my eldest is 10 this summer and by comparison the girls tower over him. They seem a lot more mature, a lot more capable and are nearly the height of me if not already (although I am short)!

The boys are all full of wild energy, talking about poo and just generally being disgusting. Or at least my 2 and the friend I take home. The one year 5 girl is capable of holding a proper conversation and isn't running around like a lunatic..

There are a few more girls in year 5 too who are already allowed to walk to and from school by themselves, they seem totally capable. I don't think any of the boys that I know are allowed to do the same. I've talked to the parents about this and we all feel like they just aren't mature enough. Different families, lifestyles...we can't all be wrong so it's something to do with the boys being immature.

I keep trying to mature mine a little but it's hard!!

I always thought this was nonsense but in my experience (worked in schools and have teen DC) it is true.

All I will say is, as a teacher I would far rather teach a class full of girls than boys.

All I will say is, as a teacher I would far rather teach a class full of girls than boys.

What's that got to do with the price of fish?

It definitely feels the case in my experience, but do wonder to what extent is that environmental as opposed to genetic, boys often tend to be babied more I think. I would say my DH was very mature from a young and very independent, but he had quite a difficult upbringing, and wasn't babied at all.

I'm not sure, my boy dts are very mature and sensible. I know I would say that as their parentsbut im quite surprisedby it as they'reway more maturethan i was at their age.
They definitely don't sit into the stereotype of teenage boys and some of the stories they tell me about the girls as well as other boys at school make me think that it all very much depends on the individual.

Omg, congratulations to anyone who can read that. My phone hates me.

Ime girls mature faster. However, higher behavioural standards are also expected from girls whereas a 'boys will be boys' mentality pervades. Consequently, male children are babied for longer and have allowances made for poor behaviour.

@KezzaMucklowe haha, my posts look like this when my phone decides to stop autocorrecting.

I’ve got girls, and long ago was one, and IME it’s bollocks —men— people tell themselves in order to justify their shitty behaviour to/sexual abuse of girls.

The infantilisation of boys is a big problem these days, I don’t remember my school friends being as incompetent and childish as so many of my kids’ contemporaries being. It definitely wasn’t a bed of roses back then but we all seemed to mature mentally at about the same rate.

Girls do surely mature earlier physically, but as regards common sense or emotional maturity IMO it probably varies enormously.

True in my experience. My 17 year old son has a girlfriend exact same age and she's already been a very good influence and helped him in what could have been a dangerous situation if he'd been left to his own devices.

I think you could be right that this occurs due to our different expectations of boys and girls, but I do think it's a thing.

I'm minded of a time when my daughter was 5 and just started school, and said a boy kept looking at her with a mean face on. I asked questions about it trying to establish 'do you think he's trying to look at you mean or do you think that's just how he looks'. Anyway she came back the next day with a huge story about how she'd asked him if he was meaning it or if not why was his face mean, was he sad about something yada yada, and I forget her actual words about his response but my impression was of a boy completely bamboozled by what she was saying and as if she was talking a different language! I don't have boys but I wonder would I ask him the same questions about the other persons intentions and feelings...I hope I would.