To ask why little girls seem to be preferred?

[foxtaildream]

Is it just me who has noticed this?

foxtaildream

I think it's maybe because, growing up the sibling closest in age to me(1 year apart, the rest were much older) was a boy and after a certain age he didn't like playing with me and where we grew up, there was so many more boys than girls..he had loads of friends and they sometimes used to be soooo mean to me and I remember wishing he was a girl so I would have someone to play with.

My comment intended to allude to that but I didn’t articulate very well. Some girls won’t like it and some boys will. But in my circle, the reverse is more often true. Likely I wouldn’t have given a girl the opportunity to find out, just as I denied my boy.

Seriously, why would anyone express a preference either way?

'Preferring' one sex over the other in an unborn baby is basically showing preference for a bunch of stereotypes. 'But I don't know how to relate to boys' - erm, the same way you relate to girls??!

Sandy do you have any idea how despicable your post sounds?
So you really wanted a girl so you could dress her pretty and shit but then you realised you could have a boy and he'd be grand even if he was ugly and historically you'd be praised for having a boy so now you no longer like or want a girl

I don't think girls are preferred. I have 2 boys and currently pregnant and would be more than happy with another boy.

I think people assume women want daughters but don't think most women actually care what sex their baby is.

Areyou, just read this thread and you'll realise you're wrong

Preferred to what? Measels?

When you've struggled with infertility to the degree I have then you'd be happy with a green hermaphrodite. Never understood why there would be a preference.

Not sure about the girls being easier to raise. I have my lovely DS who is an energy ball but most of the girls he is friends with seem to be right stroppy little madams who would have me tearing my hair out.

I think girls are talked about much more negatively in general. See post above. An ‘energy ball’ Vs ‘stroppy little madams’. There have been other posts saying similar.
My 2 DD’s are neither stroppy, nor madams. They have plenty of energy.

I think it has a lot to do with the individuals experiences within their family of origin.
wanted girls because growing up my stepfather expressed a preference for boys and treated his DS differently (even though he also had a DD of his own too). As a young child I felt that all boys were spoiled and entitled.
Although I love her very much, I don’t have an emotionally open relationship with my mother. I wanted to recreate that mother-daughter relationship with my own DD and make up for what my own relationship lacked.
I like my DSis a lot and have much more contact with her than DB. I wanted two DD’s for this reason.

areyou, just read this thread and you'll realise you're wrong

Looks fairly even spread to me

Another one who has never noticed this preference in my friendship group

Everyone seemed as chuffed as 10 with what they got

I think the more you believe in stereotypes the more likely it is to prefer one or the other. I have boys and girls and was just grateful for them as individuals.

Chien I think it’s hard for parents to be objective re their own or other children as you judge behaviour by your own standards and your perception of your own kids. The ball of energy may be destructive. Your girls may well be little madams. There are billions of child prodigies/geni

Only, there isn’t, is there

If I only had one child and I had a choice of what sex that child would be then I would have chosen a boy. I grew up with 4 sisters and wanted something different!

As it turned out I had a boy first. Followed by 2 girls, another boy and then one more girl.

I don't have a preference. They are all so different. I'd say my eldest son and my middle daughter are the most like each other. My youngest son is most like me. They are all both lovely and difficult in different ways.

I do think baby girls are seen as more precious. I think people go gooey over baby girls in a way that they don't over baby boys. And so the conditioning begins!

I think it must be awful to be a boy or girl who doesn't live up to your parent's expectations of their preferred gender.

I have 5 DDs and predictably endured all the comments from number 3 onwards about "trying for a boy". I honestly couldn't have cared less - just wanted a healthy baby and a large, loving family which is what I've got. For the record, they are all different and mainly tomboys - two having played football for the County so mountains of muddy kit etc.
DD3 [known as "the pink princess" by the others] is the only girly girl. Close relationships with all of them and very proud of the decent, loving adults they have become. DH loves all his girls and I'm not sure he ever expressed a wish for a DS although other family members seemed to think he ought to want one! Never mind - he's got 3 DGS now.

Your family soumds lovely reckless 😊

Nope not in my experience.

Yes there is! There was a lot of early years intervention stuff bought about many years ago about why boys tended to be poorer writers and readers than girls and how to bridge the gap.

Sadly there still just seems to be an attitude of "boys often have poorer handwriting" etc.

Dh and I both privately wanted a girl before I became pregnant. Our perhaps ignorant view was that baby girls are so beautiful ( boys are too ) but little girls are just magical - easier than boys to look after, cleaner and great company...... fast forward 12 years and we have two girls, and all of my friends tell me how lucky we are because it seems ‘effortless’ for us. They are bright and gorgeous and I don’t need to stand in the rain on Sundays, but I just know I would have loved and enjoyed a little boy. My girls are quite wild and do not fit into any stereotype. Boys can be sensitive and engaging. I hate the way it still matters!!!

We’d have been delighted with either after years TTC. We had a girl.

Yes, I get this, I had dc3 recently and I was surprised at the number of people who expressed a
Preference for me to have a girl (already had one of each) - I had a second boy and it did upset me to think that these people thought I must be disappointed in some way by my beautiful new baby. If I have Dc4 I would hope for a girl purely for my daughter to have a sister though I know this can’t guarantee a good sibling relationship!

The preference exists only in the echo chamber of mumsnet.

The preference was around in the 80s when I had my DSs - long before the days of Mumsnet.

Good heavens no! I always much preferred the idea of a boy when we tried for a second we really wanted another boy )turned out we got neither). Boys are so much more cuddly and fun