Are girls easier to raise than boys?

At one point during a barbeque last weekend, one of my friend’s sons was hanging upside down from the swingset yelling for help while his brother tried to untangle himself from a noose he had created with the swing.

My friend looked at me and then gestured to my daughter, who was standing there agape at the testosterone mayhem. “You’re so lucky. Girls are so much easier,” she said.

I did feel lucky in that moment. It has never even occurred to my 4-year-old daughter that she could climb to the top of the swing set. Swings are for swinging — that’s it.

So my friend’s comment has me wondering if she’s right — are girls easier to raise than boys?

I only have daughters, but from what I see of other families, boys are much more of a handful physically. They somehow feel they must touch everything they see, and then throw it across the room. They must climb anything taller than 5 inches and knock down everything else.

Young boys also seem to have a harder time listening to rules. As long as I can give my daughter a reason why she’s not supposed to do something, she will obey. Boys seem to need a little more coaxing and maybe some hands-on experimentation before they listen.

But I also don’t think girls are simply full of “sugar and spice and everything nice.” No, no, girls have their own set of issues and parenting anxieties. With girls, I am constantly trying to build up self-esteem and instill a healthy body image. There’s always a nagging feeling that if you don’t do this quite right with a girl then there is a good chance she’ll end up on a stripper pole somewhere.

I am also keenly aware that at some point my daughter will be a teenager, and that’s when the real work begins. I’m probably biased because I was once a teenage girl, but I think the emotional, social and communication issues of a girl at this age are much more taxing on a parent than those of teenage boys.

So maybe it’s all about the timing of life. Mothers of young boys are running interference and patching up bloody noses, but then they get to sit back and watch the mothers of teenage girls worry that their daughter will never speak to them again.

Which do you think are harder to raise, boys or girls? In what ways and at what ages are they most difficult?

Erin Stewart is a regular blogger for Deseret News. From stretch marks to the latest news for moms, Stewart discusses it all while her 4-year-old daughter crams Mr. Potato Head pieces in her little sister’s nose.