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Trucks vs. Dolls…What Are the Male and Female Brain Differences?

The nature vs. nurture debate has been going for a long time, but with more advanced technology, the male and female brain differences are becoming more discovered.  In the book, Why Gender Matters? by Dr. Leonard Sax, he summarizes some of the more current research examining differences in the brains of boys and girls.

• Research found that the average baby girl had a hearing response (especially at higher frequencies) approximately 80% greater than the average baby boy  (therefore music therapy usually works better for girls)
• On average, teenage girls hear better than teenage boys
• On average, girls work better in a quieter classroom where a teacher doesn’t raise his/her voice
• In a research study with 102 babies, on the day they were born, twice as many of the male babies preferred to look at a moving mobile vs. a young woman’s face, which explains why many girls prefer dolls and many boys prefer moving vehicle toys
• There are significant sex differences in the retina of male and female eyes which is connected to colour differences – girls are more likely to prefer red, orange, green and beige and boys are more likely to prefer colours such as black, grey, silver and blue
• Girls are more likely to draw people, pets, flowers or trees whereas boys are more likely to draw action
• Men and women navigate differently – women are more likely to use landmarks that can be seen, heard or smelled whereas men are more likely to use cardinal (N,S, E, W) points or concrete measures for distance
• Male monkeys also prefer to play with toy cars while female monkeys prefer to play with dolls
• Sex differences are more fundamental than sexual orientation differences, thus the above research would report the same results whether or not the child was gay or straight; it’s the actual sex of the child which seems to have the largest influence
• Girls and boys usually calculate risk differently. There are also differences in their autonomic nervous system – for boys, risky activities trigger the “fight or flight” response which gives them a rush of excitement (male monkeys also take greater risks)
• Boys tend to over-estimate their physical activity ability, especially in front of other boys, compared to girls who tend to under-estimate their physical abilities
• Females relate to violence differently than males.  Boys tend to be more aggressive with each other, in a playful way, to become better friends
• Girls are usually more motivated to do school work according to their relationship with their teacher, and are therefore more likely to ask for help, whereas boys are usually more motivated if they find the subject matter interesting, and are less likely to seek out help
• Girls and boys brains develop differently in sequence: Girls can mature in language and fine motor skills six years earlier than boys, and boys can mature about four years earlier than girls in targeting and spatial memory
• The brain activity for negative emotions is localized in the Amygdala (the alarm centre and fight/flight/freeze response) for  both young boys and girls.  However, as girls mature, the brain activity associated with negative emotion moves to the Cerebral Cortex where one reflects, reasons, problem solves etc. but for the teenage boys the brain activity of negative emotion continues to be localized in the Amygdala

How Does Knowledge About Male and Female Brain Differences Influence Our Parenting and Teaching Styles?

Dr. Sax believes that people who have tried to get their girls to play with cars and trucks and their boys to play with dolls, have good intentions, but he doesn’t believe that it is valuable.  He believes it’s more important for a young baby/child to feel comfortable with who he/she is by playing with toys he/she feels comfortable with.  If a girl happens to like trucks and a boy happens to like dolls, then this would be comfortable for them, but he doesn’t believe in trying to force it.  The same goes for drawings.  If a boy chooses to only draw action and use two colours, a teacher or parent, is advised to not ask for more colour or more objects, as this will quickly turn a boy off drawing and he’ll start to think that drawing is just for girls because they do it the “right” way – lots of bright colours, with smiling faces, animals, suns, flowers and trees.

For girls,  they may need more encouragement to take risks.  For both boys and girls, it’s important to offer plenty of new experiences which involve facing fears and mastering them.  Although for children who are high risk-takers, he reminds us that boys in groups are more likely to be unsafe in front of others.  Therefore, insist on lessons first, supervise when possible, and set limits when risks are too dangerous or rules are being broken.

Leonard Sax encourages schools to allow Dodge ball games and snowball throwing.  He states that trying to take away these activities will lead to aggression coming out in less-healthy ways.   If video games have become an aggressive outlet for your child then Leonard Sax recommends getting kids into physical sports such as rugby, football or hockey.  At the very least, he advises to be knowledgable about every video game your child is playing and to completely forbid “moral inversion” games such as Grand Theft Auto.

At school, if a girl needs help, it would be more important to give her eye contact and smile, whereas with a boy it would be better to sit next to him, not have eye contact nor smile, and lay out the work in front of both of you in order that you are both looking at the work together, shoulder to shoulder vs. face to face. Small group learning also seems to work better for most girls than boys.  As boys don’t usually like to ask for help, especially in front of peers, they are more likely to goof around and be unproductive.

Since most girls hear better than boys, a teacher may need to speak up for boys and speak more quietly to the girls.  Therefore, desk placement for boys and girls is very important.  In general, girls become more stressed by stress, but some boys may become more energized by stress.  (However, from my experience, sensitive boys will become more stressed by stress and may also have sensitive hearing.)

When negative emotions are high, there is no opportunity to problem solve as the Amygdala is on alert.  For boys, even as they get older, it appears to be more challenging for them to process, reason and reflect negative emotions.  Perhaps this is why Dr. Gray in his book, Men Are from Mars and Women Are from Venus describes men as sometimes needing to retreat into their “cave” vs. women who often prefer to talk things out.

Every child is unique.  I’m not saying that all boys are the same or that all girls are the same…gender is one of the two great organizing principles in child development – the other principle being age.  Trying to understand a child without understanding the role of gender in child development is like trying to understand a child’s behaviour without knowing your child’s age. 

~ Dr. Leonard Sax, Why Gender Matters, p. 35

I hope you are having a wonderful summer,

Warmly,

 

 

 

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