Parenting 

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Boys aren't bad news

Given the choice, it seems a lot of parents would opt for a girl rather than a boy baby. Fiona Gibson sticks up for the male of the species.

A pregnant friend has just forked out good money to have an extra scan. Why? To see if it's - shock, horror, lock up your ornaments - a boy. 'What if it is?' I asked, crossly (being mother to two sons, who are living proof that boys aren't that bad).
'If I'm having a boy,' she explained, 'I want to get my head around the idea.'

Around what idea, exactly? Oh, the anti-boy propaganda. We're bombarded with statistics reminding us that boys are slower than girls to develop language and concentration skills, and perform less well in exams. Perhaps even scarier, they are more aggressive (all that testosterone!) than nice daughters with their pretty hair accessories and dollies.

I have constant evidence that boys are dirty, messy, rowdy creatures. At a recent kiddie gathering at our place, the girls coloured in neatly, while the boys charged from room to room, playing the endearing game of 'we are a pack of wolves.' They weren't troublesome, exactly. But being wolves is slightly noisier than colouring in. 'There's a tendency to think boys are trouble,' admits Tim Kahn, author of Bringing Up Boys (Piccadilly). 'Naturally, if you label a boy in that way he will be trouble - it's self perpetuating.'

Time, then, to recognise what's brilliant about YOUR boy...
Tim Kahn points out, 'A big complaint about modern life is that, we're becoming couch potatoes.' Produce a son and kiss goodbye to your sofa and blobby rear end. Boys need heaps of outdoor play: running freely (without a 'Mind that vase!') helps to release pent-up energy. As you encourage your son to run wild in the park, you're coming into contact with other parents, so he's kick-starting your social life too. But don't harangue him into cross-country running, if he prefers curling up with Harry Potter: 'Life can be hard for a boy who's not into boyish pursuits,' says Kahn. 'Society is more accepting of a tomboy than a boy who's perceived as a wimp.'

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