Sign up girls for girl only events/activities?

[Anonymous]

I want to hear comments if there are any pros/cons signing up DD on girl only events/activities. I hear of girl run, girl scouts, girl only team sports, and girl only summer camp. And, there are something like empower girl event to encourage and expose girls for leadership and stem. Their target audience are girls.

For family like me that I have older sons and younger daughter, does that make more sense for me to sign up DD with coed events/activities like cub scout, coed summer camp, coed team sport etc? I know those programs better because my older sons attended or attend there. DD plays well with boys and girls.

[Anonymous]

I think a mix of both types of activities is best. See what she likes too.

[Anonymous]

Do both. Most rec sports move to gender specific teams by second grade, baseball and volleyball seem to be the exception. It doesn’t have to be all in on one choice.

[Anonymous]

I signed up for whatever my kids wanted. Martial arts, theater and art was coed but sports were by gender from pretty early on. I wouldn’t worry about this. Sign them up for things based on their interests.

[Anonymous]

She should try it and see what she likes. Many girls benefit from all-girls activities but if the thing she likes is coed then that's great too. My family does a mix.

[Anonymous]

I would perhaps go out of my way for one girl only thing, merely so she's around other girls. My DD knew how to talk with and deal with boys (being the only girl) and she gravitated to the boys so she needed to be put in a couple just girl groups in order to learn to deal with them as well.

[Anonymous]

Oh man, I'm waiting for the boy moms to show up and tell you how unfair life is because there are so many girl-only activities and their poor little boys are being left behind!!


But really, OP, a mix of both is great, especially when they're young because the older they get, the more segregated activities become. My 1st grade girl is really bummed because this is her last season of mixed soccer. She has already noticed that the boys don't want to play or hang out with her anymore and it's so disappointing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh man, I'm waiting for the boy moms to show up and tell you how unfair life is because there are so many girl-only activities and their poor little boys are being left behind!!


But really, OP, a mix of both is great, especially when they're young because the older they get, the more segregated activities become. My 1st grade girl is really bummed because this is her last season of mixed soccer. She has already noticed that the boys don't want to play or hang out with her anymore and it's so disappointing.

Just so long as the boys are kept OUT of the girl-only events and activities.

[Anonymous]

In 3rd grade my daughter loved girls on the run. She and her friends were disappointed when the schools opened it up to boys. They felt it was unfair and the boys were faster and more competitive. She loves girtl scouts though

[Anonymous]

I’m rethinking the co-Ed sports thing after my 7 year old DD was yelled at by a 7 year boy during her basketball fundamentals league lesson this past weekend. She wasn’t defending to his liking apparently. I was like give me a break — she’s SEVEN. Has caused me to look into some all girls leagues for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh man, I'm waiting for the boy moms to show up and tell you how unfair life is because there are so many girl-only activities and their poor little boys are being left behind!!


But really, OP, a mix of both is great, especially when they're young because the older they get, the more segregated activities become. My 1st grade girl is really bummed because this is her last season of mixed soccer. She has already noticed that the boys don't want to play or hang out with her anymore and it's so disappointing.

That’s not a thing. I have a son and a daughter. I can’t think of any girl only activities. There are boy and girl teams for pretty much everything or they were mixed gender.

[Anonymous]

I think you have to know your kid. My observation is most girls enjoy girl-only sports/activities as they get older, but some don’t.

Girls are even more mixed when it comes to the activities specifically designed for empowerment (e.g., Girls on the Run, girl leadership stuff). My own child hated Girls on the Run — thought the journaling stuff was cheesy — but loves less contrived activities. Some kids really like it though.

[Anonymous]

I was a boy mom for years and now have one of each. Before having kids, I always thought it should all be co-Ed, but after, I would not send my daughter to a coed camp or activity where I would expect the majority of participants to be boys unless she went with at least one friend.

I saw numerous times when my son was in camps and activities that some boys are just little jerks. They will leave out girls in groups, bully them etc. Sometimes that is compounded by teachers or counselors who don’t know how to manage those dynamics or don’t even register that it’s an issue. From what I see, a camp with 10 boys and 1 girl is not going to be fun for the girl, IMO.

So, as sad as it is, if I sign my daughter up for STEM or certain sports camps, I make sure to coordinate with friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh man, I'm waiting for the boy moms to show up and tell you how unfair life is because there are so many girl-only activities and their poor little boys are being left behind!!


But really, OP, a mix of both is great, especially when they're young because the older they get, the more segregated activities become. My 1st grade girl is really bummed because this is her last season of mixed soccer. She has already noticed that the boys don't want to play or hang out with her anymore and it's so disappointing.

That’s not a thing. I have a son and a daughter. I can’t think of any girl only activities. There are boy and girl teams for pretty much everything or they were mixed gender.

I did Girls on the Run (GOTR) and Girl Scouts with DD.

Both are girl-only.

[Anonymous]

My DD prefers girl only activities and is 6. In fact she didn’t want to play soccer this year because of her experience on a coed soccer team last year. She said she wants to play soccer next year if she can be on an all girls team so that’s what we are doing.

I think it’s partly her personality and partly the fact that we have all girls at home, except for dad of course. She is in school all day with both boys and girls and gets to experience that dynamic. I think giving girls who are quieter or less aggressive an opportunity to try things in an all girl environment can be great for girls confidence. I also made sure that her summer camp this year, while not girls only, groups the kids by gender.