Meeting the physical needs of Boys vs. Girls

[sassenach]

I am finding that staying on top of my 9yo's physical needs (food, sleep, exercise) are a much larger factor than they were/are with my girls. I'm curious if this is the norm or the exception.

 

What I mean by this is if my boy doesn't eat well (PROTEIN!) and exercise vigorously (1 1/2 hours of swim a day), he is a much more difficult child to deal with (whiny, argumentative and generally unpleasant).

 

Poll to follow!

 

ETA: Physical needs= Food, sleep, and exercise

Edited November 8, 2011 by Shannon831

[Halcyon]

I haven't noticed this, either with my very athletic older, or my more bookish younger. My older, in fact, sometimes gets MORE cranky when he plays a lot of tennis as he gets tired. That said, he eats somewhat poorly (not due to what we present to him, but how much he chooses to eat) and that might be a factor. He also just gets plain ol' cranky when he's tired (like his mom). But I don't give much thought to his physical level--he does something physical almost every day. More important to him (and probably my uyounger, to a lesser extent) is his desire to socialize--he loves being with people, is an extrovert (unlike me) and NEEDS to be with other people a fair amount.

[silliness7]

I am finding that staying on top of my 9yo's physical needs (food, sleep exercise) are a much larger factor than they were/are with my girls. I'm curious if this is the norm or the exception.

 

What I mean by this is if my boy doesn't eat well (PROTEIN!) and exercise vigorously (1 1/2 hours of swim a day), he is a much more difficult child to deal with (whiny, argumentative and generally unpleasant).

 

Poll to follow!

 

 

I don't think this is true of boys in general. At least it doesn't seem to be true for my boys. However, it does sound alot like my nephew.

[Alte Veste Academy]

I am finding that staying on top of my 9yo's physical needs (food, sleep exercise) are a much larger factor than they were/are with my girls. I'm curious if this is the norm or the exception.

 

What I mean by this is if my boy doesn't eat well (PROTEIN!) and exercise vigorously (1 1/2 hours of swim a day), he is a much more difficult child to deal with (whiny, argumentative and generally unpleasant).

 

Poll to follow!

 

There is an enormous difference between my boys and my girl. In particular, my oldest is a live wire and a bundle of nervous energy. He is constantly in trouble if he hasn't had any intensive full-body exercise. He has buckets of energy, running over...energy to spare. He has to work it off several times a day or it spills over into life in inappropriate ways.

 

DD is more likely to be worn out after a lot of activity. The boys are simply worn down to a manageable level. I will say that DS8 has never needed nearly as much sleep as DD does. She is much more reactive to a loss of sleep than the boys. So, it's a mix I guess.

[Sharon H in IL]

Fascinating question.

 

My laid-back easy going second son does ok with any situation. My highly sensitive, live-wire Son #1 can be a real pill if any element is off: lack of social time, lack of sleep, lack of intense exercise, lack of fiber, etc, etc.

[higginszoo]

I have two children that are higher intensity that I have to be more careful to meet their dietary, sleep, activity level etc. needs or it really shows.

Then I have two that I'll notice after a few days of being off schedule/off diet, but they're not the wrecks their siblings are under the same circumstances.

They're split evenly by gender, though, so I can't really lend much to that part of the hypothesis. My oldest and youngest are my higher needs kids, my middles are more able to go with the flow.

[Kimberly in IN]

I am finding that staying on top of my 9yo's physical needs (food, sleep, exercise) are a much larger factor than they were/are with my girls. I'm curious if this is the norm or the exception.

 

What I mean by this is if my boy doesn't eat well (PROTEIN!) and exercise vigorously (1 1/2 hours of swim a day), he is a much more difficult child to deal with (whiny, argumentative and generally unpleasant).

 

 

ETA: Physical needs= Food, sleep, and exercise

 

:iagree: I could have written this about my oldest ds, 15. Have not noticed it so much w/ my dd,12 at all and not nearly as much with ds, 11. I just tossed it up to differences in the dc. Interesting to read the responses.

[elise1mds]

I have fairly "high maintenance" kids. If they don't get their sleep, exercise/activity, or appetites met, they are C-R-A-N-K-Y. I try to stay on top of these things 24/7 so the consequences don't get ugly.

[amy g.]

I see a difference in my kids based on personality- not gender.

[FO4UR]

There is an enormous difference between my boys and my girl. In particular, my oldest is a live wire and a bundle of nervous energy. He is constantly in trouble if he hasn't had any intensive full-body exercise. He has buckets of energy, running over...energy to spare. He has to work it off several times a day or it spills over into life in inappropriate ways.

 

DD is more likely to be worn out after a lot of activity. The boys are simply worn down to a manageable level. I will say that DS8 has never needed nearly as much sleep as DD does. She is much more reactive to a loss of sleep than the boys. So, it's a mix I guess.

 

 

We live parallel lives, you and I.:001_smile:

[KungFuPanda]

My son (11) is disabled, and my daughter (14) is very capable of meeting all of her own physical needs. I spend a hugely disproportionate amount of time caring for my son's physical needs. I voted, but I probably skewed the results a bit.

[Harriet Vane]

I am finding that staying on top of my 9yo's physical needs (food, sleep, exercise) are a much larger factor than they were/are with my girls. I'm curious if this is the norm or the exception.

 

What I mean by this is if my boy doesn't eat well (PROTEIN!) and exercise vigorously (1 1/2 hours of swim a day), he is a much more difficult child to deal with (whiny, argumentative and generally unpleasant).

 

Poll to follow!

 

ETA: Physical needs= Food, sleep, and exercise

 

Yes, this is my reality as well. My girl's needs are more emotional, though you could probably categorize the monthly emotional needs as physical. ;)

[Alte Veste Academy]

We live parallel lives, you and I.:001_smile:

 

If only we were neighbors. :)

 

My girl's needs are more emotional

 

Even in these early years, I am noticing this. DD wants eye contact and long conversations, while the boys are more likely to talk while they toss the ball. It's like physical stuff works out the emotional stuff in my boys.

[Parrothead]

Dd simply needs 10 hours of sleep or she is cranky. Other than that she is pretty much on an even keel. It does not take a lot of my time/energy to make sure she goes to sleep at a decent hour.

[Julie Smith]

I have only boys, so I can't compare boys vs. girls. My eldest needs more effort getting out his silliness - my youngest doesn't. This is even taking age into consideration.

[angela in ohio]

Out of all the differences in having a boy after girls, this was the biggest adjustment. My girls, who eat and sleep well overall, have always been able to handle a rough patch. My little guy, though, will start passing out, get crabby, and catch whatever illness is going around if our lives are a bit crazy for a while. He must eat regularly, and he can't function without sleep.

[Jayne J]

Ds needs protein at every meal, frequent meals or snacks and at least an hour of vigorous play to be bearable.

Dd needs all the same things, but needs less of them--i.e. 20-30 minutes of activity usually works for her and she needs less protein.

 

The biggest difference I've noticed is how they express their problems when the needs aren't being met. Ds tends to get angry, argumentative, and manic. Dd tends to get whiny, bossy, and weepy.

 

Dd definitely needs more social/face time--snuggling, talking, and what she calls "girlish time." Ds needs at least an hour of quiet time alone after lunch.

 

I am not sure how much is gender and how much is individuality.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

Meeting the physical needs of all of my kids is very important, though more so for some than others. I think it's more of a personality/body chemistry issue than a gender issue. My toddler ds is the least affected by disruptions in sleep, hunger, etc. and he is the most laid back of my kids. Older ds is most affected, followed closely by 3yo dd. They are both very high needs kids and have been since birth. If they are sick or are lacking in sleep they have little control over themselves and you don't want to be anywhere near them. My 7yo dd is somewhere in between. I'd say she's a spirited child, but not so high needs as my middle two. She does have a harder time controlling her emotions and is more likely to have a crying fit or complain about her work if tired or sick but she has much better control over herself and can usually keep things together.

[gardenmom5]

I would recommend to get more accurate results to include NT (nuero-typical), or sensory as seperate catagories.

 

dudeling is HFASD/SPD/anxiety and does well to function for five minutes without his physical needs being met.

[MissKNG]

My girls have high physical needs compared to most girls of the same age. They are "known" for how incredibly active they are and even for how much they eat. They also don't sleep as much as kids their ages sleep. They are quite the handful and their physical needs are exhausting.

[woolybear]

If any one of those physical needs is not met, the rest of life can be considerably harder. So, it is a priority. Food can be taken care of pretty easily. Sleep I don't have total control over. Exercise is something I focus on pretty strongly for my two boys.