Are girls better than boys?

Sister siblings

Joseph Kelly comments that most people think that the only possible reason you would have a third baby is to "complete" your family by having a full set of sexes.

It's funny, but when I say that I don't care if our next baby is a boy or a girl, no one believes me. Certainly I think adding a baby boy to our family would be wonderful, exciting and a great joy. But I honestly don't think it will be any more wonderful, exciting or joyous than our two girls have been so far, and any future girl would be.

From what I can work out, most people think that the only possible reason you would have a third baby is to "complete" your family by having a full set of sexes. When our second daughter Frances was born I lost count of the people who instantly asked if we were going to "have another crack". Even at the checkout the other day, the lady loading our groceries looked at Maisie and Frances, studied Susie's swollen tummy, then turned to me with a smile and said "Good luck this time!"

And it's not just strangers. My mum has told me on countless occasions how she can't wait to see me with a son. Last week, when she turned her x-ray vision onto Susie's tummy and determined that Susie was having another girl, she asked me if we would have a fourth. Even when I explained that we'd always wanted three kids and we didn't care what sex the next baby was she still wouldn't let it go. Instead she looked at me with that unmistakable 'mum' look, the one that says "yes, but I know what you're really thinking", and simply said "Yes Joe. But a boy would be nice, wouldn't it?"

The fact is I think a boy would be nice. I think it would be nice to have a child whose hair I could brush without needing an advanced diploma in braiding from the Ponds Institute. I think it would be nice to have a child who didn't spend the entire morning trying to co-ordinate different shades of pink for her morning ensemble before heading to creche. And I think it would be nice to have a child who didn't get mortally offended every time I thought she was dressed as a fairy when, in fact, she was a princess.

And while I'm on it, I think it would be nice to have a child who handled his frustrations in logical and socially acceptable ways, such as breaking stuff. I have learnt after long experience with Maisie that when she is frustrated we have to go through this crazy dance of isolating her feelings, discussing those feeling, validating those feelings and then celebrating the closure of those feelings by watching an episode of Dora the Explorer. I think it would be a lot easier on all concerned if the next time she got frustrated she just kicked a ball through a window.

I think all of this would be nice. But I know from hard wrung experience that not only are girls nice, but being a dad to girls is pretty nice too. For example, I know it's nice to be invited under Frances' bed to share a picnic with her teddies. I know it's nice that when I do volunteer reading at Maisie's school she gets so excited she stands up every twenty seconds and squeals "That's my dad!" And I know it's nice to always be asked to play the prince whenever the girls play princesses, even though I always end up as the horse or the dragon.

So knowing all of that, I can honestly say I don't care if our next baby is a boy or a girl. My only hope is, if it is a boy, that he's happy to play the horse or the dragon while I play the prince.

Do you have a single sex household? Are girls easier to raise than boys, or is it the other way around? And is it really true that boys are strong, just like King Kong?

Comment on Diary Dad's blog.