Before Kids (”BK”) I used to think men and women were the same. That’s right, not just equal, but identical! It was the way we though at Uni in the early 90’s and I always assumed if I had kids that they would be raised androgynously and we would all live happily together like some kind of David Bowie cloned family, sharing clothes and haircuts and generally not oppressing anyone.
So you can imagine my surprise when I discovered that kids aren’t quite like that! Little Bro is fascinated with wheels and moving objects (particularly balls). Big Sis’ prams are all turned upside down so he can spin the wheels. He will spot a moving object out of the corner of his eye and pursue it to wherever it is going. Big Sis on the other hand could not be less interested, she prefers to spend her time interacting in a social manner with whoever will listen to her. This my father would tell me, is typical female behavior.
Today in the park a little boy got Big Sis involved in a kind of preschooler game of soccer. Big Sis was not watching the ball, she kind of just put up with the ball as a means to get the interaction she was after. She would laugh loudly as it came towards her and mimic his kicking or catching - all the time trying to engage in a discussion about it. It kind of worked for them for a while and then he had to go, he promised he’d be back soon. Which he was, this time with a football - not a soccer ball.
Big Sis : “Where’s the ball?”
Little Boy : “There!”
Big Sis : “Where?”
Little Boy : “There, next to you!”
Big Sis, tripping over it : “Where?”
She just couldn’t get her head around the oval shape - so they both gave up. Meanwhile, Little Bro crawled at full speed to reach the now abandoned ball, and there he sat for the next 20 minutes - picking it up, putting it down, throwing it, crawling to it. How does he know it’s a footy and Big Sis doesn’t?
Little Bro has just turned 1 and we went to a big toy shop to try and find his present. I really really hate big toy shops and none of us were having fun. As we wandered aimlessly through the aisles reflecting on the meaninglessness of modern existence (Toys R Us always triggers and existential crisis in me) and why we as a society produce so much of this plastic crap, Little Bro found his present.
He came across a fire truck as big as him and would not let go. DSO ended up carrying the truck with Little Bro clinging to it to the check out. He loves it - the only thing is that every time he plays with it he must first pull out all the dolls and fluffy toys that Big Sis has stuffed into the driving carriage - he throws them across the room with what appears to be the closest thing to disgust that a 1 year old can muster!
Birthday, Gender Differences, Gift, shopping
February 11th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
[…] Little Bro is obsessed with the work site (please see entry about gender differences). As soon as he hears the machines he yells “Dig Dig!” on the top of his voice with one arm raised to the sky, finger pointed. He says this over and over through the day and scours the toy box for toys that resemble earth moving machinery. So at least 3 times a day I’m prevailed upon to walk out to the work site and check on the progress. Once in front of the action Little Bro goes silent and watches in awe as the Dig Digs do their work. Big Sis on the other hand sees it as a social opportunity. There are lots of kids in our area so there are usually at least 1 or 2 other families watching proceedings so Big Sis spends her time greeting friends new and old, and trying to get a game or conversation established! […]