Post on 30-Dec-2015
Gender-Healthy KidsGender-Healthy Kids Gender-Healthy KidsGender-Healthy Kids
Sue BohlinSue Bohlin
Probe MinistriesProbe Ministries
www.probe.orgwww.probe.org
Gender Matters!
• Supporting our kids’ gender results in a healthy self-concept
• Gender differences between boys and girls are designed by God
• Gender Spectrum
Celebrate Gender Differences
• Boys get their sense of self from achievement. They are wired to be self-reliant. (Greatest fear: failure)
• Girls get their sense of self from relationships. They are wired to be interdependent. (Greatest fear: abandonment)
Celebrate Gender Differences
• Boys are linear in their thinking; girls are more intuitive.
• Boys can focus on one thing at a time; girls are multi-taskers and enjoy the process.
Celebrate Gender Differences
• Boys tend to be competitive; girls tend to be cooperative.
• Boys are action-oriented; girls are more verbal.
• Boys’ hostility is physical; girls’ is verbal.
Celebrate Gender Differences
• Boys bond shoulder to shoulder• Girls bond face to face• Girls tend to be empathetic
nurturers. • Boys tend to be aggressive
nurturers.
Affirm Children’s Gender
• Affirm boys in their masculinity and girls in their femininity
• Reassure the primary questions of their hearts:– “Do I have what it takes?”– “Am I beautiful?”
Affirm Children’s Gender• You can be a good strong male
without playing sports.• You can be a soft, feminine lady
and be an athlete or strong leader.• Sensitive, creative types make
great husbands, pastors, counselors.
• Support the social distinctions of masculinity and femininity
• Specify what men/women and boys/girls do that is different.
Celebrating Gender Differences in School
• Male brains and female brains
• 3 parts1. Brain stem: instinct,
fight/flight2. Limbic system:
experience emotions3. Upper brain (4
lobes): thinking
Girls’ Brains
• LEFT BRAIN: verbal skills (speaking, reading writing)
• Mature earlier than boys’ brains• Corpus callosum up to 20% larger than
boys’ brains: more cross-talk between hemispheres
• Better at impulse control than boys
Boys’ Brains• RIGHT BRAIN: spatial skills
(measuring, direction, objects in space)• Mature later than girls’ brains; later
speech and reading development• Fewer neural connections between
hemispheres: brain activity focused in one area at a time
• More developed in right hemisphere: better spatial abilities: measuring, mechanical things/design, geography, maps
Social difference s• Girls: bond first, ask questions
later• Boys: be aggressive first, ask
questions later• Girls: manage social bonds by
alliances• Boys: manage social energy by
dominance and pecking order
On the Playground• Boys: physical, rough and vigorous,
competitive, aggressive• Girls: quieter and less active, more
cooperative• Boys: ignore newcomers till they
prove their worth and value• Girls: greet newcomers more
warmly
Movement• Boys: Movement enhances learning• Movement manages and relieves
impulsive behavior• Lower serotonin + higher metabolism =
natural fidgeters• Boys use more space than girls for play
and learning• Give boys things to do and quiet toys to
play with while listening and learning
Honoring Boys• Let them move around• Give them something to manipulate• Give them time to think and to process
strong emotions (30-second wait time)• Let them engage in aggression play and
expression • Encourage them to open up by not
demanding that they look at you. • Warn them a few minutes before a
transition.