Boys and Their Toys. How Do They Learn?

Matthew Playing With a Tonka Truck

Raising a twin boy and girl is an interesting object lesson in genetics and society, as much as it is a fun ride as parents. Try as we might to raise the pair the same way, with the same access to the same things at the same time and for the same duration, their innate differences trend toward some social and cultural stereotypes that, due to our feminist leanings, have me wondering how we could already have gone wrong.

While I am unable to convince Kristine to dress Matthew in pink as often as Sarah, or get her to don blue overalls instead of purple, the fact is that Matthew, for whatever reason, is especially drawn to "boy's toys", including cars and trucks. I never sat him down and told him that these were for XY genetics. He just figured it out. And yes, like other boys, when out on a walk, he will pick up a stick and walk with that, as if the stick is the most amazing thing in the world.

This isn't to say that Matthew is all "snips and snails and puppy dog tails". At 19 months, he is a very sensitive young boy, who, as previously noted, can be bullied by his sister. He walks with a blanket and loves stuffed animals. But I can see him being "all boy". He jumps. He falls. He is more awkward than his sister, at this stage. Pure boy. If he ends up with a closet full of GI Joes and LEGO, I'll know the trends started at the very beginning. Somehow.