Your little girl is growing up too fast and you can already picture out the scene when, at 14 years old, a young man calls up the house looking for your little Sarah. You're starting to freak out thinking about how your baby girl should still be in her tutu hugging her teddy bear. But those days are long gone, Mom. She's going to be out on a date with Mr. Quarterback sooner or later.
What you tell your daughters about boys and how you tell these realities to them will depend on their age and maturity. Below are general truths you can tell your daughters about boys to prepare them for their inevitable interaction with these fascinating members of the opposite sex.
It's not just because they're all Italians, boys just generally love their Mommies. As young human beings, Mom was certainly the center of their respective universes and it's hard not to get sentimental when the subject of the discussion involves their Mommies. Check out Robert Munsch's Love You Forever for more insight regarding mother-son relationships.
Well, most of the time they do know what they want. They're quite simple to figure out actually. Thomas needs a blue shirt. Let's go to the mall, pick a blue shirt, done! While we girls debate which among azure, periwinkle, and cerulean is a better shade of blue... That alone tells you a lot about the girl-boy difference.
They may not follow you wherever you go or check on your Facebook page every five minutes, but they have their ways of knowing how you're feeling that day or what you want for lunch. They do that by asking seemingly innocent questions, but they're already taking notes.
...without knowing that they do. Because, they're boys and they're not as sensitive as you are. Also, they may say things that are completely harmless or are not meant to be offensive but you took it the wrong way. Don't take it against them immediately. Always choose to be proactive rather than being reactive. That means, think before you open your mouth for rebuttal.
As a compendium to number 4, boys are not mind readers so when you feel offended about what they said, tell them. A lot of times, you really have to spell things out to them clearly and directly. They're just a different breed so don't expect them to know everything.
They can treat you as one of the boys - and it's super cool to be a member of their gang! They're a nonsense bunch and because they usually know what they want, you usually skip all the drama existent in some of your girlfriends.
In the same manner that little girls will grow up as full-blown women, boys can grow up to be men too (with guidance from family and influence from society). This is where conversations such as "boys can get you pregnant" come into play. Research about how to tackle sensitive topics with your daughters and practice how to say these things to them. Without you knowing it, the "day of reckoning" will come and you will be left without a clue as to what you would tell your daughters. So be a Girl Scout, be prepared!
It's wrong to teach your daughters that boys are "gross" and "eww"; we don't want them to grow up having negative preconceived notions about boys. Instead, what mothers can do is to teach the general facts from the get go and then proceed to the more detailed explanation as the girls grow up.
Have you started talking about boy-related issues with your girls? How is that going?