a son is a son until he takes a wife, but a daughter is a daughter for the rest of your life

[maama0f3]

Is there truth to this? What's your experience? Hear of so many sad strained DIL / MIL relationship dynamics and being a mama of sons curious.

It's not true for my dh.He speaks to his parents every week, we visit every couple months despite them being 5 hours away, they come to see us etc

His sister phones every few months and they see her once or twice a year despite living an hour away.

My brother talks to my mum every single day and shares lots of personal stuff with her. I speak to her about once a week and talk about general stuff.
I hope my sons stay close to me!

@Afan

I grew up amongst many adults who used to say ‘one child is no child’ - an awful sayings imo - Synonymous with the ‘heir and the spare’.

What did they mean? That having one child is too risky in case it dies, at a time with more child mortality? Or just people used to big families who thought having one child was both unnatural and looked suspiciously easy and fun from the perspective of someone with seven?

I thought it meant one child is more like a mini adult...that they need other kids to be 'proper' children

@Afan

Absolutely true. Of course many exceptions. But I’ve seen it all through my life. And So glad I have girls as more likely to have their lifelong closeness.

Yes this seems general consensus on the thread

My mum and my brother are like two peas from the same pod, they are so close. I'm close to my dad. I don't think there is always truth to it.

Opposite here. It’s impossible to generalise like that, completely depends on the individual.

It can be a self fulfilling prophecy I think. I know plenty where the sons are closer than the daughters and vice versa. My own brother is much closer to my mum than I am

@Skelligsfeathers

It's not true for my dh.He speaks to his parents every week, we visit every couple months despite them being 5 hours away, they come to see us etc

His sister phones every few months and they see her once or twice a year despite living an hour away.

My brother talks to my mum every single day and shares lots of personal stuff with her. I speak to her about once a week and talk about general stuff.
I hope my sons stay close to me!

Having sons I hope the same too but depends on the women they bring home, there's a stigma attached to men that are close to their mothers such as "mama's boy" and some women feel threatened on this relationship. This also works both ways with MIL too and the effort they decide to exert on the relationship. It does entirely depend on personalities of the individuals.