The difference between boys and girls ...

I DON'T profess  to be a
parenting expert.
 Most of the parenting
knowledge I have gained has
come from my mistakes, and
reading books about toddlers by
people who know more about
human behaviour than most of us
combined.
But this week, I have been
struck by some of the distinct
behavioural nuances that seem to
set girls and boys apart.
Based on my experience, if you
give a boy elbow pads to protect
him if he falls off his skateboard,
he will jump off the couch and land
elbow-first on the carpet, to see if
 

the pads work. A girl will not.
I am now concerned about the
life-threatening scenarios that
might eventuate when my son is
given   his first cricket box.
If a boy tells you he can't find
his sweatshirt, it is in his
schoolbag.
Look there first, so you don't
find it when you open his bag after
spending 10 minutes hunting for it.
 
 
If a boy texts you repeatedly to
ask you what time you are coming
home, I find it is generally because
he misses his Dad. If a girl texts
you several times asking when
you are coming home, it is because
she wants to ask you if you will
upgrade her cellphone when she
 

turns 13 in two months.
If a boy tells you he has lost the
TV remote, and looked
everywhere, it is down the side of
or under the couch. Always.
If a girl tells you she has lost the
remote, she has hidden it from the
boy _ who thinks it is lost _ so
she can watch her favourite show.
If a boy tells you that you never
pay him his pocket money on time,
it is because the boy has not done
the jobs required to earn him the
pocket money. If a girl tells you
have forgotten to pay her, you
probably have.
If a boy tells you earnestly,
``Dad could you please come and
 

look at something'' it is because he
has put his skateboard through a
floor-level window at the front
entrance, while trying to ride it
inside. Without elbow pads.
If a girl asks the same question
in the same tone, it is more likely
to be because there is something
making rat-like noises under her
bed. And if a girl breaks her leg,
she will walk on it for a few days
before complaining it's sore. If a
boy stubs his toe he will let the
neighbours a few blocks down the
road know.
Email me your own
observations, and I'll publish them
in next week's WeekEnder.