Boys will be Girls

"We badly need to raise our boys more like our girls." -Glora Steinham

Is this statement true? Are boys and girls so much the same in which we need to raise them the same, or are they different?

Boys and girls have the same basic needs: survival, self-esteem, intimacy, and growth. As we look deeper into the needs for males and females, we will begin to see as to why men and women act differently.

When you put children together in a room with lots of toys, what do we notice? The girls tend to do more social play, relationship oriented and are more sensitive and caring. They will comb the Barbie's hair, rock the baby doll back and forth. The boys tend to play more aggressive, rough housing and spatial, making toy guns out of Legos or knocking down blocks with trucks. What causes these differences in their playing? Is it because that's just how parents taught them to be, or are they just naturally like that?

Biologically, men and women aren't the same. When a wife becomes pregnant, her biological motives are to create that baby inside of her. Her husbands biological motives are to protect her and their family. Therefore, our different functions allow us to live together in such a way that they compliment one another.

Women have a hormone called oxytocin that's responsible in helping nurture, bond, and love. If a kitten were to nurse from a female dog, the dog would accept the kitten because that chemical bond is present from the oxytocin. She would be accepting and love that kitten; it's built in their nature.

Men have a hormone called testosterone that causes them to be more aggressive and competitive. This is why men primarily like to be the ones to initiate situations, play rough with another, or protect their families; it's built in their nature.

Our roles as being nurturers/aggressive appear to be natural rather than learned. Let's look at this in a more spiritual setting.

President Gordon B. Hinckley tells us about the responsibilities and roles as male and female, mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, and children. In the Family: A Proclamation to the World, he states, "All human beings-male and female-are created in the image of God. Each beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny."

I love that statement because it lets me know I have a purpose on this earth with who I am.

The proclamation continues, "Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal destiny and purpose...by divine design, fathers are to preside over the families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children."

God has specifically made a plan to carry out these individual roles as male and female so we can help one another out. It's good that boys and girls are different; they're complimentary. That's the way it was meant to be from the very beginning when God created us.

What do you have to say about this? Feel free to leave a comment because I would love to have a discussion with you! :)