Raising boys vs. girls

[TheSlyKang]

Ok guys let's here some stories about these rough boys.
I have an 18 yrs old daughter and an 8 yr old daughter. Then along comes my third and last.... a boy. I thought I had finally gotten somewhat of a grasp on parenting until he came along. But boys are definately a different experience. Tristan is 16 months now. Our dishwasher is ALWAYS running. If we dont close it completely, he takes the dishes out and hides them. If we close it, he turns it on. He likes the cat.... and the cat food.... and the cat litter. He takes the electrical outlet child safety plugs out and hides them (I cant even get the darn things outta the wall myself). We havent bothered putting the child safety locks on the cabinet doors cause he broke the ones in his room at the nursery before he was a yr old. He got "juiced" this morning trying to unplug the iron. He loves BBQ ribs.... and styling his hair with the BBQ sauce. Tristan is as sweet as he can be but into EVERYTHING. I never had this problem with the girls.
So lets here it.... what else do I need to expect and look out for?

[Timmay]

Wow...girls are definitely different than boys.  I have a 16 year old daughter, 11 year old son and another daughter.......9.   Why I hesitate to say 9?  Because she thinks she is 16.

I really do not know if i would rather have a house full of boys or girls.  I will admit, the youngest is spoiled and it is all her mothers fault..not mine LOL  My son hasnt really ever done anything that stands out in my mind....but my daughters...Lord help them.

When my oldest was around 2years old, my wife had left for work and she told me that lil chels was up watching tv and I needed to get up.  Well I fell back to sleep and I wake up with her standing next to the bed with orange markings all over her, ie...face, hands, clothes, arms, legs.  I was like oh honey what did you do!  I get up and walk into kitchen.  All over kitchen floor, cabinets, fridge, etc.  You name it...it had a mark on it.  I see the dreaded marker laying on the floor....ORANGE SHARPIE MARKER!  So I proceed to the living room to sit down and think how i am gonna get it off of her skin especially around the eyes and mouth.  As I sit on couch, all over the tv, the end tables, the wall, coffee table...you name it...it was marked.  Thank Heavens for poision control hotline...Baby oil does the trick.  Bank that in your memory if you ever have such an incident.  Wife just about killed me when she found out....but I survived
So that takes me to the next story..... Lil ann and I were at home.  Just the two of us.  We go out side and I start doing some yard work.  She is right along side of me, she was about 5 years old.  I told her to go in the house under the sink and grab the box of trashbags.  She goes in, the neighbor guy hollers at me and we start chatting.  After a few minutes I realize Annie had not come back out yet.  I go inside, and there she sits in the middle of the living floor with my oldest daughters collector series barbies...I was like Annie...put those away.  You know you arent suppose to be playing with those.  I SEE BARBIE HAIR EVERYWHERE!  She cut the hair off of two barbies.  I was like OK DAD IS IN DEEP SHIIIIITT!  So I rush in there...grab the scissors...and I ask Annie...WHERE IS YOUR HAIR!  She cut the left side of her "way past shoulder length hair" OFF!  TO THE SCALP.  OMG!  DAD's gettin a divorce!   Annie had a cute lil boys cut by the end of the day...

So....my advice...Watch the girls...have fun with the boys! lol

[dawgfan]

Sounds like my son, Owen.  My daughter will be seven and my son will be two, both in January.  There is no comparison between the two.  They are both really, really great kids, but boys are definately different than girls.  My daughter is very laid back and easy going.  My son, on the other hand, is wide open 24/7.  Just like you said though, he is as sweet of a child as I could ask.  I don't have much more experience as our boys are close in age, but what I can tell you is based on everything you've said you have a normal little boy.  Enjoy, because as you know, they grow up way to fast!

[Mike]

No kids for me yet but I can speak from a sibling view. I must warn you, even though he is the baby of the family, dont under estimate the baby. I am the youngest of 3 boys and the worst. I always looked so innocent but was the mastermind behind the havoc that was caused. When my brothers would tell mom that I told them to do it I would just have the cute look and get out of it. So watch out, he might try to blame everything on siblings even though they are much older.
 Also thats awesome about the BBQ sauce, I go through a gallon a month atleast.

[Mikekoz13]

I have a 24 year old son, a 12 year old son, and an 8 year old girl...... three great kids but all very different.

No one will EVER tell me there are no differences between boys and girls.

You think your boys are a handful now...... wait until they turn about 14.... that's when they officially become one of the dumbest living and breathing creatures on the face of the earth. DOn't worry though....it only lasts about 3-4 years and then they kind of find theri way.
When my older son tunred about 20 he asked me to lunch one day out of the blue. I thought he wantedd to borrow some money (which he has never done) but he actually apologized to me for acting like a fool for those 3-4 years. He said he was sorry for all the dumb things he did. I laughed and told him not to sweat it...... it was nothing compared to what I had done at that age.

[Timmay]

I laughed and told him not to seat it...... it was nohing compared to what I had done at that age.

.....and compared to what you are still doing lol

[Mikekoz13]

I laughed and told him not to seat it...... it was nohing compared to what I had done at that age.

.....and compared to what you are still doing lol

SSSHHHHH!!!!!! I'm a fine and admired memberof my community now!

[hammerdrill376]

Well I don't have a son but my daughter is almost 18 and her boyfriend(s)..yes that is plural..can be a major source of annoyance. She really has a taking with the gothic and pierced type of guys which is really not what I approve of. Course at 6'2" 262lbs and a SBG I ususally don't get alot of lip from them. By in large I am thankful that we have not had "major" problems with her though sometimes watching her and her mom fight is more like two sisters then mom/daughter.     

[TheSlyKang]

LOL Timmay that Sharpie story is a trip. Sounds just like Tristan. I put him in the garden tub today to play in the bath while I got a quick shower. He played for a minute or so and got real quiet (not good). All of a sudden I heard a loud splash and he started giggling. He had climbed out of the tub and thrown Zoe, our Yorkie, in the bath.
Just while ago I emptied the silverware out of his dump truck and put it all back in the dishwasher. Always something.

Yeah Hammer the SBG thing works great with the boyfriends. Sometimes I make sure I'm out back firing my handguns when they come over. My 18 yr old girl is pretty well behaved though. (It's my 8 yr old that I think will give me a rough time in her teens.) My older one is dating a good ole country boy. They go to his church on Sunday mornings and ours on Sunday nights. They hang out on Sunday afternoon and target practice. He has got her deer hunting and she has taken a nice 6 pointer and a nice doe so far.

[GASlick]

I have a 7 year old daughter and a 6 year old son.  NO COMPARISON!

It's like living with a diva and a mma wrestler.

[Mikekoz13]

It's like living with a diva and a mma wrestler.

EXACTLY!!!!! Except my son would be WWE at this point!

[D.A.L.U.I.]

16 months, this little guy is very advanced--he already into the infamous "terrible twos" that have driven parents nuts for years.  I had two girls, but even they were two distinct personalities.  My wife & I were only children and we learned that kids "gang up" on parents--neither of us were prepared for that.  It's a great ride, keeps you on your toes.  But enjoy it, it is over all too soon.  You're going to turn around one day, and that little boy will be a young man and you're going to wonder, where did the time go.  Short, sweet, enjoy every precious minute. 

[Stu]

Three girls here, and all very different... one of the hardest things to deal with is when one of the kids has done something to the other, and you know based on what happened who did it, but since you weren't there as an eyewitness, you can't pass sentence.  Well you can, but then you have to punish one guilty and one innocent child, which will inevitably result in another war.  I can only imagine that having a son is way easier on your nerves than having a daughter when boys start coming around.  I just thought we got rid of one, but it appears he is making a comeback.  All I ask is for them to do is marry clean, well mannered, responsible men, and that they must be sports fans because I need to have someone to watch sports with me in my old age.

[andrew]

I only have 1 daughter, of 16, but have 23 nieces and nephews.   It has been my experience, in general, that little boys and guys are very different.  The little girls are often fairly clean and well-mannered, while the little boys love to fight and get everything dirty.  Then, when the girls become teenagers, they're more difficult to deal with, getting very sneaky and jealous, and often bitchy.  About that same time, the boys begin to mellow out ...

While they all rebel their parents, during the teenage years, they seem to come back to their parents for guidance around age 18 or so.  When I was about 30, I told my father that I finally realized he was right about everything he lectured me on.  Now I lecture my daughter on those same issues.