Boys vs girls

[feralgirl]

Hi. DS is my first DC so far, is nearly 16 mos and is still perfectly happy to do his weird sideways bum-shuffle rather than walking (this doesn't bother me btw, other than it'd be handy not to have to carry him and the shopping from car to house). My friend's DD was born the same week and has been walking since she was 13 mos.

Whenever anyone asks if he's walking yet and I say no, they sigh, nod sagely, raise their eyes to heaven and say "ah, that's boys for you..." So, those of you who've got DCs of both sexes, is it true? Are girls just quicker than boys at walking and other stuff? And why?

I don't think boys are on average any later to walk than girls (possibly even tend to be earlier). However, they are more prone to eccentricities in general, in my experience!!! (Or, you could say, more prone to uneven and unusual developmental patterns, whereas girls are generally a bit more predictable). There are plenty of girls out there who have developed in an unusual way too, of course, so I will probably be shot down for implying that boys' development tends to be less predictable. It just has been in our family!

Interesting rabbitstew. My gran is always quick to tell me that my Aunt didn't walk until she was 2 but so far she (and you!) have been the only people who haven't supported the "boys are inherently lazy" theory that so many of my friends, colleagues and family subscribe to.

well i have one of each - ds did not walk until he was 17.5 months old
dd on the other hand started walking at 9.5 months .

OK that's 1 all!

my ds did the yogic shuffle, and didn't walk til he was about 15 months. I think if they discover that mode of transport then they don't have the same incentive to walk, as they can carry things as they travel, so it's no advantage to get up onto their feet. dd walked a bit earlier, and never shuffled.

Well I have 5 - 2 girls and 3 boys.

DD1 walked at 10 months, as did her eldest (male) cousin.
DS1 and DS2 at 11 months.
DS3 at 13 months and
DD2 at 14 months

DD1 did everything early but DD2 has done everything late. DS2 was crawling (backwards) at 4 months- I kid you not- while DS3 didn't sit unaided until 9 months.

Both DDs continued to wet themselves at 3 yo. DS1 was clean and dry at 2.5.

Every child is different, and I think that when people have one of each they put the natural differences between their children down to their being a boy or girl.

Elvislives, that's exactly what I suspected.

And your evidence proves that the idea that younger siblings will develop faster is twaddle too. Everyone tells me that second and third DCs do things quicker because they learn from their older siblings but if that were the case then your third DC would have learnt to crawl at younger than 4mos and would have probably been a medical miracle!

I also have one of each. DD1 crawled at 9.5 months and walked at 15.5 months; ds2 crawled at 6 months and walked at 12 months...so in my opinion, boys aren't lazier than girls but that's just one snapshot! People always say 'oh they're different because one's a boy and one's a girl'...I think this is complete rubbish. My children are completely and utterly different in every way - but that is just their personalities and make up. My husband and I are opposities so that makes sense that our children will be too.

comments like 'that's boys for you' will nearly always be stereotypical nonsense

Dd was early at crawling, talking and walking but ds was only ever 1 month behind her. He walked at 11 mo iirc. As boys go through early childhood they tend to be much quicker with the gross motor stuff though - kicking a ball, throwing and catching on average.

to shatter the general consensus ds walked at 6months and had been sitting up from 3 months.

He had no time to be a baby and it has taken a lot effort to convince him to be a child. It is an on going battle. Although a weekend of mountain biking with his dad will help, plus the skate boarding, roller blading thing is just a right of passage (all be it most don't discover this till bigger the 5 but hey ho at least it is a kid type activity)

Enjoy whave got some boys walk early some don't it is down to individual personality of the child. I would be more concerned about not walking at 2 and any underlying issues rather then CBA.

Enjoy not having to run around for a b. it is truely shattering when they get walking!

My son never crawled but walked at 9 months and his sister was almost a year before she walked.

My son never crawled either. Was born by c-s and gyno almost passed out with shock when he came out holding his head up and looking round the room!!! Was sitting unaided at 5 months and walking by 9 mnths. Physically he was always been slightly ahead of 'developmental norms' but at 5 1/2 yrs now he slightly 'behind' age expectations academically. This just shows children are who they are and are all different.Does it matter???

His school report says he's an interested, lively boy with a quick mind, a large group of friends and he is well behaved.

Surely this is more important than the age in which he walked????

DidEinsteinsmum is right its more important for them to be happy children.