Anonymous wrote:he things I like about my all-boy household:

Clothing - they don't like to shop and are oblivious to hand-me-downs, so I save a ton on clothes. Their clothes are just easier - two pairs of shoes each per season, a pair of khakis and a polo shirt can go almost anywhere.

As brothers, ( Sisters) they get along well with no drama or hidden agendas. No one-uping each other.

Very active: we play baseball and basketball in our yard and kickball with the neighbors. They wrestle, jostle and move around more. I have three nieces and they are amazingly low energy!

Team sports - they've made great friends on their team sports. I know girls play on teams, but my boys really bonded with teammates over the years.
[b]
I love how positive things about having all boys quickly turn into "boys are better than girls"

I have only girls but, many of the things you quote I can say the same about my girls. I've bolded the parts that are the same! See you can't generalize and assume all boys do this and all girls do that.

Do your daughters really wear khakis and a polo when they need to dress up?

I think some of you missed where the OP asked parents of all boys what was good in THEIR families. That doesn't mean that whatever we've shared couldn't be true in families with boys and girls or just girls. Good grief.

he things I like about my all-boy household:

Clothing - they don't like to shop and are oblivious to hand-me-downs, so I save a ton on clothes. Their clothes are just easier - two pairs of shoes each per season, a pair of khakis and a polo shirt can go almost anywhere.

As brothers, ( Sisters) they get along well with no drama or hidden agendas. No one-uping each other.

Very active: we play baseball and basketball in our yard and kickball with the neighbors. They wrestle, jostle and move around more. I have three nieces and they are amazingly low energy!

Team sports - they've made great friends on their team sports. I know girls play on teams, but my boys really bonded with teammates over the years.
[b]
I love how positive things about having all boys quickly turn into "boys are better than girls"

I have only girls but, many of the things you quote I can say the same about my girls. I've bolded the parts that are the same! See you can't generalize and assume all boys do this and all girls do that.

Reading these makes me feel bad for wonderful DD who has been my rock this past year when DH went off to have his midlife crisis. DD, who is in college, has spent the last few weeks helping me pack the house, helping me apartment shop, and the rest. DD, despite being very attractive, has never been as much drama or maintenance as DS. IMO, many of these caricatures about boys vs. girls are false.

Keep an eye on it. If you and yours sons and daughters have a good relationship it should be nurtured. If it starts collapsing it is a huge sign of domestic abuse. I missed about 10 years of my folks because my exwife made it so unpleasant. She's borderline. Her fathers comment when we split was how surprised he was that I stayed long.

Also, by nurturing that relationship, you will find the best friends. Both ways.

And no. I am not a momma's boy. You would call me an alpha who doesn't care. But as my folks go into their 80s, I like to see them a couple times a year. Just for a day. I am simply repaying them for years of aggravation.

I love how one-sided this is. Your ex made it unpleasant. So you're blaming your ex for preventing you from seeing your parents? You're like my husband. My MIL was so intrusive and negative that I cut her off. I did not cut her off from the kids or my husband. I had NO right to do that. She was nasty to me and to my own mother, and the things she said to my mother while my father was dying were unforgivable. My husband, however, cut off ties - sort of - as he never visits her or brings the kids around.

If the situation rears its ugly head (usually around the holidays), my husband blames me for HIS inability to drive in the car to visit his mother, for HIS lack of desire to bring the kids. My youngest has no clue who she is, btw, b/c he was very young when I made the move to cut her out. So that meant my husband refused to keep their ties, too. I still don't know the reason why he's spineless. I really don't. But he is. And still get the blame for HIS issues.

It's never one-sided, genius.

never

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They're just a ton of fun! I, too, have mourned not having a daughter, but my boys (20, 16, and 12) are the absolute light of my life. Even if I had a daughter, that doesn't mean I'd have the stereotypical mother-daughter experiences.

But you don't know that.

NP. I have boys ages 21, 19 and 17 and a 12 year old daughter who was a big surprise. I was always very close with my boys and her arrival did not change that. Not sure what a stereotypical mother/daughter relationship would be but so far she is by far the most active and athletic of all my kids and participates in 4 sports. Most of our time together is spent going back and forth to practices and games/meets. At this same age most of the time with my boys was spent building elaborate Lego creations and they even made a couple quilts each with me.

PP, what types of team sports?

The things I like about my all-boy household:

Clothing - they don't like to shop and are oblivious to hand-me-downs, so I save a ton on clothes. Their clothes are just easier - two pairs of shoes each per season, a pair of khakis and a polo shirt can go almost anywhere.

As brothers, they get along well with no drama or hidden agendas. No one-uping each other.

Very active: we play baseball and basketball in our yard and kickball with the neighbors. They wrestle, jostle and move around more. I have three nieces and they are amazingly low energy!

Team sports - they've made great friends on their team sports. I know girls play on teams, but my boys really bonded with teammates over the years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a stupid question, OP - sorry.

But you get what you get. Those "praising" their all-boy families do so b/c it's all they know.

same could be said for an all-girl family

I have a girl and a boy. What does that make me? an expert?

Reread the OP's question-she wasn't asking if all-boy vs. all-girl families are better; she asked for us to tell her the good things about our all-boy families. Of course, the answers will say good things about all-boy families. So what?

Exactly!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get to be queen.
Not as much drama
I get more say in how thinks look.
Stronger snow shovelers

Yeah, and then you get to be a MIL. Watch that tendency.

I think there is a BIG difference between MILs with only one son (plus daughters or as an only) and MILs who have all boys.

Everyone I know who has a husband with only brothers or mostly brothers thinks their MILs are not too bad to really great. I think those MILs are happy to have some female blood in the family, have been worn down by their sons to be really laid back and fun, and are ready to enjoy their DILs.

The women I know who have a husband with mostly sisters or who are onlies tend to have MILs who run the gammut between truly awful to meh. I think in these cases, MILs and DILs get into competitions about who is more important in the son/husband's world.

These generalizations about MILs are so tiresome. My MIL has three daughters and one son. She is really, really wonderful and I've never felt competition with her or her daughters.

OP, I have two boys and am maybe considering a third. We have three nieces and, from what we've seen so far, they are a LOT more difficult than the boys (all 8 cousins are between 2-6 yo). The boys tend to roll with the flow, are excited to explore and create, don't whine nearly as much, etc. In general the girls are way more needy, are already excluding others, brag a lot and are way more emotionally draining for me. We are considering having a third child and I'm REALLY hoping it's another boy. I hope you come to peace with your situation.

New poster here. Your "wonderful" relationship with your MIL might have more to do with her than you. There are abundant generalization about the MIL because it is often true. You will soon find out when your boys marry. As you say, "the boys tend to roll with the flow". Because of this, after they marry, they tend to follow their wives cue on social situation. This should not be surprising.

This is why I make a point to tell my sons that they'll need to continue to build and maintain a relationship with their father and me throughout their lives, if that's their choice. It isn't their wives responsibility to do that for them or to get in the way of it.

Keep an eye on it. If you and yours sons and daughters have a good relationship it should be nurtured. If it starts collapsing it is a huge sign of domestic abuse. I missed about 10 years of my folks because my exwife made it so unpleasant. She's borderline. Her fathers comment when we split was how surprised he was that I stayed long.

Also, by nurturing that relationship, you will find the best friends. Both ways.

And no. I am not a momma's boy. You would call me an alpha who doesn't care. But as my folks go into their 80s, I like to see them a couple times a year. Just for a day. I am simply repaying them for years of aggravation.

Boys ROCK.

Anonymous wrote:This is a stupid question, OP - sorry.

But you get what you get. Those "praising" their all-boy families do so b/c it's all they know.

same could be said for an all-girl family

I have a girl and a boy. What does that make me? an expert?

Reread the OP's question-she wasn't asking if all-boy vs. all-girl families are better; she asked for us to tell her the good things about our all-boy families. Of course, the answers will say good things about all-boy families. So what?

I grew up in a family of six boys and one girl - so not all boys! My sister was a drama queen and generally drove my mother nuts including eloping. Once she hit 40 and my mother 75 they became very close. Thank God! The six boys were all pretty normal....or as normal as boys can be. One thing I can tell OP is that they all adored their mother and all hoped to marry someone with her love and kindness....and ability to manage a zoo!

This is a stupid question, OP - sorry.

But you get what you get. Those "praising" their all-boy families do so b/c it's all they know.

same could be said for an all-girl family

I have a girl and a boy. What does that make me? an expert?

NP. I'm happy with my all boy family. They are lots of fun & very sweet.