I'm also the mom of an only so it's hard for me to answer this. But I can't imagine discipline being a 'one size fits all' sort of thing whether the kids are the same gender or not.
I have one of each and here are my thoughts... I believe discipline should be tailored to the child not necessarily the sex of the child. More sensitive children need less severe consequences while some children need the proverbial 2 X 4. My son is quite stubborn and needs more creative and harsher discipline than my daughter who mostly just needs a strong look or voice. The idea is to raise a healthy, productive, well-adjusted member of society and it takes different things to develop this in different human beings. Some boys are more sensitive than some girls. It's a very individual thing.
I agree with everyone about tailoring the discipline to the child. Although mine are both boys, they have completely different temperaments and issues. So I have found I have to deal with them each differently. The 12-year-old responds well to straightforward reward/punishment kind of discipline; whereas the 8-year-old has anger/impulse control issues, and the same consequences that helped his brother learn to behave appropriately only serve to create more frustration and confusion in his emotionally-clouded brain; he requires a much different approach. Yes, the older one often complains that it is "unfair," but I really believe "Fair does not mean EQUAL."
Yes I believe that I do discipline differently my Ds compared to my DDs and mainly because girls are so darn emotional and manipulative that you almost have to!
I think the punishment should fit the crime, and the person. We have found that grounding works the best of all!!! So, we discipline ours the same, I guess. The length of grounds is determined by their action.
I think discipline should be tailored to each child, so I agree that we should discipline differently.
Yes I believe that I do discipline differently my Ds compared to my DDs and mainly because girls are so darn emotional and manipulative that you almost have to!
Powered by CGISpy.com
I'm not sure how or why a parent would discipline children differently simply based on their gender.
<CENTER><A href="http://www.youngsurvival.org/"><IMG src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y23/jennt1111/mindy2.jpg"></A>
Ramona Mom to 2 great kids and wife to one wonderful hubby since 1990!
Edited 3/20/2008 9:31 am ET by missybee837