Let boys be boys

I have seen the results of being over protective in my daughter. she was just so fearful as a child and she never tried anything without any adult supervision. i remember last year during Easter weekend we went to the beach, my daughter loves swimming but my husband(who stayed at home) told her that she must not swim in the ocean she will die. SO you can imagine my daughter wearing her swimming gear crying her lungs out because she wants to swim but is scared because daddy said she would die, I was so mad

Now my son is a different story, he is his own man, the energy drains me and he does things my daughter never did, he climbs, crawls,runs and walks everywhere.

I agree, boys must be boys. Kids must play and get dirty to become strong balanced adults.
I leave my son to play, and trust he won't get hurt.

Oh, and when your daughters grow up to teenagers, nerves of steel won't even help.

Interesting article and good to know since i'm pregnant with a boy!

Interesting what they say towards the end about rough and tumble play in school. In London they have now gone as far as banning 3-legged races and sack races from school because the children might fall and hurt themselves! I mean really!

Claire I don't know why I am so relaxed as Dylan will be my only kid and you would think I would be super protective, but my Mom was super protective and to this day we all have unrealistic fears and I decided I wouldn't do that to Dylan which is why I love the article.

He always has bumps which make me feel that I am maybe wrong so it's difficult, but he has such amazing spirit and my heart stops often but amazingly he is quite careful.

This is such a true article, I see it in my 2 boys.

Brandon was really protected, we helped him down slides and to climb climbing walls etc, always on hand in case he fell. warned him of all the dangers etc and now (I hate to admit it but) he is a bit of a wimp. He is really hesitant to try anything new, unless someone is there to catch him in case he falls. I also had so many (irrational) rules that he will not do anything before asking if it is okay.

By the time Liam arrived I realised that wrapping them in cotton wool was unrealistic and Liam is a REAL boy - climbs, jumps of chairs (I draw the line at climbing onto walls to jump off) and is game for anything. He is imaginative and will sit for ages to figure something out (if it interests him) and is streets ahead of Brandon physically.

If I could do Brandon's babyhood over, I would "hover" less and allow him more free play.

A mommy needs nerves of steel to raise a son.

And this article explains why this is so important.

www.iol.co.za/html/frame_babynet.php?set...0429083835733C424717