To ask what are the best things about having a little boy?

[KeplerYellow]

I'm almost 30 weeks pregnant and really excited to be having a boy. I am however getting a bit scared about the whole giving birth part, so trying to focus on the bigger picture. I would love to hear how great it is to have a son to help me concentrate on the positives.

Boy aged 5: energetic, can be loud, full of beans, alternates between independent and clingy, lots of hugs and kisses, interested in nature, wants long hair like Thor, loves Lego, Playmobil, vehicles, will only dress up as a policeman vet or Bob the Builder, loves Winnie the Pooh stories, loves My Little Pony (has 9 + grooming parlour), loves sellotape, is generous, doesn't fight, likes watching Shimmer+Shine, hates ball games, loves swimming, can play four hours on his own. Canmot. Stop. Talking.

Girl aged 5: bit shy, loves hugs and affection, likes her Playmobil dollhouse with dinosaurs, constantly laughing, hates crafts but likes drawing with felt pens only, hates colouring in, likes dot-to-dot and drawing labrynths, likes number games, bit wary of spiders but likes insects, prefers R2D2 to Princess Leia, doesn't have a favourite colour, can play on her own for hours, likes running around the garden pretending she's a train (mostly likes shouting'poop poop'!). Cannot. Stop. Talking.

I've just described me and my son.

I had scalectrix and meccano as a child, along with Weebles and My Little Pony (which ds is now playing with). DH found a pink pushchair in a skip which DS now uses to push his favourite pink bear around in. If i counted all the wheels in just our living room it'd amount to about half a million! Children are a mix of personalities and likes/dislikes. Bring them up the same. Don't gender toys/clothes. Don't accept bad behaviour. Teach boundaries.

The birth will be over quickly - then you have decades of being a mother. Concentrate on the motherhood. Read 'Raising Boys' by Steve Biddulph

I would like to point out that I'm not stealth boasting - I'm just boasting! My little boy is AMAZING.

My girls are also AMAZING. But that isn't what the OP asked.

People are daft though, I've seen it on pets threads too, male cats are so much more affectionate than female cats. Female cats are bitchy and aggressive. it's nuts. I am mother to a wonderful boy, and can;t quite believe the anti-girl comments on here, quite scary really. It's a shame that casual misogyny is accepted on Mumsnet

I can only comment on what's great about MY boy and what's different about him and his sister
He loves cuddles, always has and hopefully will for a long time ( DD doesn't really like being touched)
He seems to " need " me more than DD, she's very independent and always has been
He's much tidier
He doesn't steal my make up
He's very uncomplicated and open

And I prefer his TV programs!!!!

It's a shame that casual misogyny is accepted on Mumsnet

What a lot of nonsense. I could also give you a list of the best things about having a little girl. I don't understand why the constant need to try to negate the obvious differences between boys and girls. It doesn't mean we are robots and all boys or all girls are the same either.

A couple of my friends are trying really hard to raise a tomboy, to create a tomboy even. They are not pretending that she is not a girl, but trying to go for all the stereotype boys activities and behaviours. . As hard as they try, it doesn't work, Their little girls are text book little girls, it's actually quite funny to watch.

For goodness sake, children are individuals and all different. The girls I know are hugely varied, with differing interests and personalities. As a child I loved running around, kicking balls, cars, being constructive. One of my brothers is similar to me, the other very different. Not sure which of us are girls and which are boys, as I said earlier.

I go to a girls' school. There's such variation amongst pupils. Many are what's referred to as "tomboys" (I don't agree with the term, they're just girls with those interests and personalities), there's a thriving rugby team, football teams, netball teams, hockey teams, lacrosse teams. Maths is the most taken A Level, Physics is highly taken up, IT is growing. Some love makeup, some wear none. Some are interested in fashion, some couldn't care less. Everyone is different, personalities differ...just at they do at my brothers' boys school.

This "the obvious differences between boys and girls" is complete nonsense. There is no such thing as a "text book little girl" (or boy) any more than there is a "typical woman" or "typical man". We are all individuals and limiting children in these terms is regressive and damaging.

We were desperate for a girl but found out at 20 weeks it was a boy. I put away my ideas of frilly tutus and girlie days out. However he's now 2 and such a cutie! He loves his Mummy but is such a typical boy - loves rough and tumble, likes dinosaurs and dragons and monsters! Also loves diggers and cars! I haven't tried to get him into these things, its just what he has chosen. He is like a Labrador puppy - loving, bouncy and needs lots of exercise!

coddiwomple that's bollocks.

Of course what the op should have asked is what is wonderful about having children.

I have one of each and for 2 my son has always been 'easier', less volatile and generally happier. He also doesn't decide he needs to change his hairstyle as you're running out the door on the school run

Sorry, for my 2...

generally happier. He also doesn't decide he needs to change his hairstyle as you're running out the door on the school run

These things could be linked. The pressures on girls for such a young age in terms of appearance are huge, which doesn't help with general well being and contentment.

There are lots of studies that show that baby girls and boys are socialised/treated differently by parents and other carers basically from birth, even if the parents/carers don't think they do so. There's one I remember about parents allowing baby boys to crawl up higher slopes than baby girls, even though the girls were capable of climbing them. All that socialisation adds up and produces the stereotyped behaviour attributed as innate to girls and boys. What may start out as very small personality differences are magnified and enforced by socialisation and culture.

loves rough and tumble, likes dinosaurs and dragons and monsters! Also loves diggers and cars

He sounds lovely and lots of fun. He also sounds like me as a young child.

You also said you had certain ideas about having a daughter, as many do (as they do with sons), so may even push children towards certain interests whether that's conscious or not. Not saying you have but many do. Sex stereotyping is just so entrenched it seems.

NoLoveOfMine, she's been a grumpy sod since she was born. Bad genes I think!

AssassinatedBeauty very much so. The climbing slopes example was one shown on a documentary a year or two ago by Professor Alice Roberts - it was striking how much less confidence parents had in their daughters and the differing expectations they had of them compared to sons. It also showed how children are treated so differently in terms of sex - they sent someone in to play with a baby. One baby was dressed all in pink with ribbons, the other in blue (played with separately). The man sent in was adamant the one in pink "naturally" wanted the dolls, tea set etc and the one in blue was automatically drawn towards cars, dinosaurs, Lego. Of course, the one in pink was a boy and the one in blue was a girl.

It's quite common to see little boys with dolls at playgroups. We've always had 'boy' toys and 'girl' toys in the house and they just do whatever. DD is better at climbing trees than DS and currently wants to be a helicopter pilot in the navy (she's 10). I think it probably helps that I've got an engineering background and she sees me doing 'man' jobs at home so there are no false limits presented to her.

SquidgeyMidgey indeed. Toys are toys and for all children to enjoy. It's important not to limit any children and it's great your daughter and son have you as such a positive example and will both doubtless thrive.

God, I wish some of these whinging people would just piss off. It is so rare to have a thread talking about the benefits of boys, and there is absolute no doubt that quite a lot of people look at you with pity when you have 2 boys. What do you have NoLoveofMine?

Everything! I have 2 girls before my boy & he is 2. He has been so dreamy as a baby, I've loved every minute. The girls were much more needy & really rubbish at sleeping but boy has slipped into a routine perfectly & has been a beautiful sleeper & an absolute joy when awake. I keep thinking he'll probably be a nightmare when he's older but for now am enjoying his loveliness.
Someone told me boys are like dogs, feed them plenty & exercise them often & you can't go wrong.

Also for re the recommendation for Raising Boys - just realised how much that book contributed to my (unexpected) gender disappointment and almost-PND. All "you are harming them irrevocably if you leave them before 3, but after 7 you will mean nothing to them"... as a full-time working mum it didn't exactly fill me with joy!

Apachepony saying girls are manipulative, cause drama and are less affectionate isn't "talking about the benefits of boys" unless you have these misogynistic opinions of girls.

It's a shame that casual misogyny is accepted on Mumsnet

The Misandry must be full time professional in that case...