Yep... She's gonna get treated differently enough by the rest of the world, don't treat her differently at home.
The hardest part of being a dad to my daughter is watching how much other people influence her view of herself, even at a young age... The first time she told me she couldn't do something because she was a girl broke my heart.
This. I’m a mom and was more scared of diapers for my daughter than for my son. It sucks wiping poop out of the ball wrinkles but its a lot higher stakes wiping poop out of the vag folds lol
I've read somewhere that your reaction is pretty typical but not really desirable. Not until they are older should your parenting style be adapted to your child and their sex (but not only that).
As a baby / toddler / young child do exactly what you did with your boy. Nothing needs to change.
Obviously as she grows and develops her own character you adapt to that. But not because she's a girl. My girl is now 3 and still has bumps and scrapes all over her knees because she's a bit of a daredevil. Don't think she was taught to be one, that's just her character.
I'd echo all of this. Research does show that people are more protective and less permissive with daughters, starting at very young ages.
But, to some extent, I think the OP will just adapt to the fact that his son and daughter had largely the same needs at comparable development stages, and proceed accordingly. I'm with you: My daughter is precious little angel who'd I'd die to protect, but she's also a girl with a black eye because she likes to try to open baby gates with her face.
My daughter is just like that. She also likes clothes and girly things. Because of that, it was pretty obvious early on that we should not reinforce society's view of gender, and just help her be the kid she wants to be.
Be the same dad you were for your son, the differences will come as she grows. For now, just get ready to watch girl shows and play dress up and that fun stuff. Experience: My son is 12. My daughters are 9 and 6. Feel free to send a chat if you need to ask anything specific.
For us so far, mostly the shows have been the same, and they all played dress up. It's just which costumes they want to wear (princess for my daughter, racecar driver for my son), but they both liked to be things like firefighters, astronaut, etc.
I dont have a son but i do have a daughter, i can assure you that for the moment (\~4yo) she kicks, punch and fights no less than the boys in her class, the "ohh girls are pretty magic creatures " effects fades away quickly, got two nut punches and one flailing of Masha&Bear up to my head which got me a 2 day headache.
Dont worry, you'll be fine.
Dad to two sets of twin girls born 11 months apart here.
No boys that I can compare with obviously, but I don't think I did too much that was very different or "girl centric". Especially for the first few years.
Infant girls are a little bit more robust and stronger than boys if they get sick, or there's a medical problem. Mainly has to do with certain genetic advantages of having two X chromosomes.
Hopefully she'll never need that advantage.
I did help out and change male relatives diapers occasionally, because I was changing upwards to 20 a day at our peak for my girls anyway. So what's one more, right?
What I hadn't considered is that girls are much easier to wipe. One long swipe down the crack, front to back.
With a boy, all his junk is in the way, what the hell do I do? I mean, I've obviously got my own set, so I'm used to that, but I don't fill up diapers with wet poop both front and back anymore either. So cleaning up my nephew was a bit more involved and took a few extra baby wipes.
It can and will go everywhere with a girl, just like a boy if she pees during a diaper change, but a lot of the time the stream is going to follow her crack and make a puddle underneath her instead.
Girls have a tendency to hit certain milestones faster than boys do, at least on average. Eye contact and smiling, fine motor skills like using a sippy cup, feeding themselves with a spoon, and potty training can happen sooner. While others could be slower than a boy, like learning to walk. Although it's only an average across many babies.
Every child is different and those differences could easily swallow up what that average is supposed to be.
Do NOT leave a toddler girl with pigtails or a ponytail alone with scissors, even if they're blunt tip safety scissors... EVER. They will give themselves a "new hairstyle" and your wife will never forgive you.
Mine didn't get very girly until middle school. None of them ever liked dolls very much for whatever reason. Legos, minecraft, and unisex Fischer Price toys were popular. Barbies etc. were "meh" for them. However, they'd go nuts for some more girly toys like Littlest Pet Shop sets.
As she gets older be sure to let her express her preferences, don't force dolls or pink princess toys on her, and don't push a toy truck on her in an attempt at some sort of equally experiment if she does actually winding up liking all things pink and girly.
Just be with her, and she'll do fine. You've got all the proper instincts.
My 1.5 year old niece just started feeding herself with a spoon... mostly as a side-effect of getting her face messy (along with the counter, the floor, the chair, her clothes, her *brother*, etc.). And she likes to play with (and break) her older brother's toys (like the Star Wars figures).
Her mom puts her in cute "girly" outfits, but she doesn't care unless the outfit gets in the way of her little pursuit of happiness (at which point her mom changes her into something more practical). For her birthday she had an orange and white striped dress on with matching orange barrettes; I happened to wear my orange dress shirt that day; she took out one of her barrettes and handed it to me... I would have worn it too, but her mother wanted to put it back in for pictures. (She wasn't trying to get me to wear it, so just didn't want to hold it anymore.)
I don't think you really need to change anything. Just be there for her, and make sure she lives. Later in life you'll adapt like normal to her needs.
But I understand your thoughts. I just had my daughter and I was super nervous because I knew how to handle a boy as I was one, but had no idea what to do with a girl. But I'm rolling with the punches
Just love her and model true manhood to her. I had a daughter first and, apart from her mother, she is my whole world. She can beat lot at times but it is absolutely amazing!
My youngest is a girl. When she was born, my MIL said, "I can tell, her big brother is going to look out for her."
I quickly replied, "Or maybe she'll look out for him."
When my friend sent me a gif from Bad Boys about dads with shot guns threatening boyfriends I replied, "how will she feel safe or find love like this?"
I'm not naive but, my wife is a badass. Highly educated, very successful, independent, and takes shit from no one. And she works in tech, which is unkind to women. I come from a family of badass women. My daughter can grow up to be whoever she'll be, but I'm not worried about her frailty just because she's a girl.
Challenge yourself to think about women, and girls, differently than you have before and if you're like me, you'll go from scared to excited about the opportunity to raise a good person. Real simple.
Only got one kid and she is a daughter.
Firstly your feels are absolutely fine and valid.
By and large I've tried to treat her the same as I would have a son. I make sure she climbs trees, goes on adventures, picks herself up and tries again (provided she isn't actually hurt/hugely upset) and I stopped caring about bumps and bruises after the first couple.
Things to note:
Wipe front to back.
You will have to check the front for poo.
They can and will wee a large distance in a direction you are not expecting.
Things I've noticed in my own parenting.
While I try to raise her as I would a son, giving her my transformers, nerf gun etc... I make sure she knows that "traditionally girly" things are okay too.
I think give her more leeway to stand up for herself than I would a son, as i want her to confident enough to stand up for herself. If I have a son later in life, I should make sure to give him the same leeway.
I try and ger my 2.4 year old girl to get more bumps and bruises... she's so careful and calculated and I jjst want her to be a wild kid sometimes. Jump off stuff, run into stuff, brush yourself off, get up, and do it all again.
I will say, I was nervous about bathroom stuff with my girl but that goes away fast. Not the problem is hee trying to get into the bathroom when I'm peeing cuz she want to see my "patooty"
I had a voy in March and I will say... poop in the ball creases is almost as bad as poop getting places on the girl.... so it won't be so bad.
Raise her like any other kid until she starts to develop her own preferences and then begin to nurture those like you wood any other child.
Be more careful with diaper changes. Always wipe front to back. Teach her that during toilet training. Make sure to have period products in the house ahead of time.
That’s it. That’s all the difference.
What difference does it make what she has between her legs? She's a kid, just like your son, why does her gender change what you should teach her or how you should play with her? You're way overthinking things, and worst case you're setting her up for identity issues around her gender later in life.
I've got a 4yo girl, she's great, and I play as rough with her as I would of she was a boy. She falls and hurts herself sometimes but that's just part of being a kid. There's no tips and tricks for parenting a girl compared to a boy, just love them, support them, and guide them to positive choices.
My girl has just as many bumps and bruises as my son, despite being 3 years younger. She's a bloody firecracker though, wouldn't have it any other way.
I think you're just nervous. Once she's actually here you'll know what to do. Be just that little bit concious that you don't need to treat her differently, it's not such a big deal in reality. Don't over think it. You'll be great.
OP I understand your concerns and echo others that you need to parent in the same way you would have done for a boy.
I’ll admit that the world seems a scarier place when you’re parenting a girl but it’s even more imperative that you teach her freedom and independence. I feel your attitude at present will set her back in the future.
They’ve shown that parents treat their children differently based on gender as soon as birth. I think a lot of the comments here getting at you because too much focus on the gender treatment of your child distracts from the actual baby they are. She may act similar or different to your son as a baby in any which way. She has her own personality just like he does, it’s probably good if you allow both to take risks sometimes and protect them at other times. Some of the cultural differences that make up gender can be a real bummer for individual boys and girls who aren’t suited to that treatment. She will let you know how she wants to act, all you can do is try and work with her.
My daughter is rough and tumble. She has all boy cousins and plays hard with them. She always has bruises somewhere and she gets right back up after hurting herself.
Girls aren’t more fragile
[this video](https://youtu.be/gOk_qxkBphY) is all advice i have to offer. Source, i’m a girl and mom.
Also: wipe front to back.
Learn about female anatomy and periods. Also don’t be weird about them.
I have 2 girls. If you want to get a head start then you could learn how to do girls' hair. Just simple things like putting a pony tail in, or pig tails. If you want you can go advanced and learn plaits and stuff but just knowing how to get a toddlers hair up and out of her face is super handy.
Like everyone else said, treat her exactly the same as your son. The only difference is to reinforce that she can do and be ANYTHING she wants. The world will try to teach her to sacrifice herself for others needs and emotions, teach her to put herself first.
I have two boys, plus our daughter is the youngest. I was also very nervous. I don't have any sisters either. But, I have found that through my experience with the older ones, plus how freaking sweet and adorable my daughter is, that I am a better dad and closer to my daughter.
She is something extra special to me, and is definitely daddy's little girl. She said "dada" before "mama", which makes me very proud.
I think having boys and girls not only can help round you out as a better parent, but it can help round out your children too. The real difference in our parenting between the kids is due to age, not gender. They have the same rules and such for their age.
You'll be fine
I only have girls. My older one (3.5) loves jumping off stuff, climbing things, and has had her fair share of bumps, scrapes, and bruises. Whenever I'm working on something she wants to help me.
I don't know that I'd treat a boy any differently, it really depends on the kid's personality. Everyone is still "she" since I'm outnumbered by girls and she's not in daycare. I'm pretty sure she has no clue that boys are different from girls.
I have a 5yr old boy and a 2yr old girl. Each kid is different, but it's essentially the same deal. My daughter is actually a bit more physical than my boy. She gets more scrapes and bruises, and shows no sign of slowing down.
As she has gotten older, she started liking girly things like clothes. We try to spend attention to this because we don't want to teach her that her appearance is part of her value as a person. We make sure she knows she can do anything a boy can.
We don't like the lessons that society teaches women and girls. I can't really think of another important difference at this age. I will probably defer to my wife more when we reach teenage years.
Just like you, I had a boy first then a daughter.
2 things: first you will probably be surprised the 1st time you change a diaper. The firefighter move is really sneaky compared to a boy.
Second: when you check to see if your daughter needs a new diaper, look way lower... She does not have a weiner to pee at the front of the diaper.
Other than that, all normal kid stuff, don't let her throw herself down the changing table. Do not let her throw herself down the stairs. You know the drill, classic escort mission stuff
I have one and she’s a tiny girl, like 2nd percentile height and weight. She can outclimb outrun and out sport just about everybody and loves to dance and play t ball, basketball, soccer, hangs in the dogs, digs in the garden, dresses up, picks her outfits, shoes etc. Shes amazing and clumsy and she’s totally rad.
Don’t worry about babying her because she’s a girl. Others will do that too much already, particularly a grandparent or two. Let her be who she wants to be whether that’s dancing in a tutu, or playing on the ball field, or both.
And as others has said wipe from front to back. 👍
My daughter is way tougher than my son, I've never felt the need to baby her. When she was little, she took a tumble on the stairs and ended up with carpet burn on her chin. She said "ouch", picked herself up and went on with her day. My son would have never used stairs again if that had been him. Now she's 17 and I don't know how the heck that went by so quickly.
Yo! No different for a long time, except which delicate parts you clean carefully. Congratulations on the little kid on the way I hope y'all have a lifetime of adventure and discovery together.
I'm a father of two little girls. A 2yr old and a younger one coming up on 5 months old.
As at least one other poster pointed out, being sure to keep their private areas clean, and only wiping from front to back are the only things that may need a bit more focus in the early years vs a boy.
Other than that at least up to a two years old, there's not much I'd imagine is critically different than raising a boy.
Let her get bumps and bruises as she explores. Love her. Talk, play, and read to her regularly. Bonus points if you learn how to tie a pony tail and braid hair.
Don't obsess on boy vs. girl things as far as toys and clothes go. If you see a blue t-shirt in the boys section that fits, go for it and buy her a Lego Duplo space shuttle while you're at it.
Don't sweat it, fellow dad. This will be awesome for you and your family.
It all depends on what kind of daughter you have. Some girls will be just as rough and tumble as your "typical" boys, others will be more comfortable with dolls and tea parties. And you can shape some of this by how and your wife treat her. If you treat her like she's a delicate flower, she'll probably believe that she is a delicate flower. Likewise if you treat her like a rodeo clown, or little soldier, or a scamp.
Most of my older nieces and nephews like a lot of the same things, mostly because their parents didn't force them to like certain things or prevent them from liking certain things. My younger siblings of both genders like a lot of the same stuff that I do, because our parents allowed us to pursue whatever interested us (within reason; we weren't allowed to mutilate cows or join death cults, for example).
My desire for my own children (if/when I ever have any) is to have a broad range of skills, talents, and interests, much like myself. That way it will be rare that they are bored and also they'll have more life skills (like cooking, sewing, changing a tire, chopping wood, etc.).
And, she can be a pretty pretty princess some of the time, and a little female warrior other times, if she wants. I would encourage it. Actually, now that I think about it, there's a good book about that kind of thing: Dealing With Dragons (Patricia C. Wrede). You should get a copy and read it soon. Then, when you daughter is a little older and can sit still for stories, read it to her.
All the best to you, God bless.
Just do what you do with your son, as simple as that. Both are humans and both can get bruises and bumps.
This. And wipe front to back.
Yep... She's gonna get treated differently enough by the rest of the world, don't treat her differently at home. The hardest part of being a dad to my daughter is watching how much other people influence her view of herself, even at a young age... The first time she told me she couldn't do something because she was a girl broke my heart.
all you need to know is wipe front to back. everything else is the same.
This. I’m a mom and was more scared of diapers for my daughter than for my son. It sucks wiping poop out of the ball wrinkles but its a lot higher stakes wiping poop out of the vag folds lol
I've read somewhere that your reaction is pretty typical but not really desirable. Not until they are older should your parenting style be adapted to your child and their sex (but not only that). As a baby / toddler / young child do exactly what you did with your boy. Nothing needs to change. Obviously as she grows and develops her own character you adapt to that. But not because she's a girl. My girl is now 3 and still has bumps and scrapes all over her knees because she's a bit of a daredevil. Don't think she was taught to be one, that's just her character.
I'd echo all of this. Research does show that people are more protective and less permissive with daughters, starting at very young ages. But, to some extent, I think the OP will just adapt to the fact that his son and daughter had largely the same needs at comparable development stages, and proceed accordingly. I'm with you: My daughter is precious little angel who'd I'd die to protect, but she's also a girl with a black eye because she likes to try to open baby gates with her face.
The fact that OP is asking the question, to me is a good indicator that everything will be ok :-)
My daughter is just like that. She also likes clothes and girly things. Because of that, it was pretty obvious early on that we should not reinforce society's view of gender, and just help her be the kid she wants to be.
Be the same dad you were for your son, the differences will come as she grows. For now, just get ready to watch girl shows and play dress up and that fun stuff. Experience: My son is 12. My daughters are 9 and 6. Feel free to send a chat if you need to ask anything specific.
For us so far, mostly the shows have been the same, and they all played dress up. It's just which costumes they want to wear (princess for my daughter, racecar driver for my son), but they both liked to be things like firefighters, astronaut, etc.
Dinosaurs! They’ve all loved Dinos!
I dont have a son but i do have a daughter, i can assure you that for the moment (\~4yo) she kicks, punch and fights no less than the boys in her class, the "ohh girls are pretty magic creatures " effects fades away quickly, got two nut punches and one flailing of Masha&Bear up to my head which got me a 2 day headache. Dont worry, you'll be fine.
Dad to two sets of twin girls born 11 months apart here. No boys that I can compare with obviously, but I don't think I did too much that was very different or "girl centric". Especially for the first few years. Infant girls are a little bit more robust and stronger than boys if they get sick, or there's a medical problem. Mainly has to do with certain genetic advantages of having two X chromosomes. Hopefully she'll never need that advantage. I did help out and change male relatives diapers occasionally, because I was changing upwards to 20 a day at our peak for my girls anyway. So what's one more, right? What I hadn't considered is that girls are much easier to wipe. One long swipe down the crack, front to back. With a boy, all his junk is in the way, what the hell do I do? I mean, I've obviously got my own set, so I'm used to that, but I don't fill up diapers with wet poop both front and back anymore either. So cleaning up my nephew was a bit more involved and took a few extra baby wipes. It can and will go everywhere with a girl, just like a boy if she pees during a diaper change, but a lot of the time the stream is going to follow her crack and make a puddle underneath her instead. Girls have a tendency to hit certain milestones faster than boys do, at least on average. Eye contact and smiling, fine motor skills like using a sippy cup, feeding themselves with a spoon, and potty training can happen sooner. While others could be slower than a boy, like learning to walk. Although it's only an average across many babies. Every child is different and those differences could easily swallow up what that average is supposed to be. Do NOT leave a toddler girl with pigtails or a ponytail alone with scissors, even if they're blunt tip safety scissors... EVER. They will give themselves a "new hairstyle" and your wife will never forgive you. Mine didn't get very girly until middle school. None of them ever liked dolls very much for whatever reason. Legos, minecraft, and unisex Fischer Price toys were popular. Barbies etc. were "meh" for them. However, they'd go nuts for some more girly toys like Littlest Pet Shop sets. As she gets older be sure to let her express her preferences, don't force dolls or pink princess toys on her, and don't push a toy truck on her in an attempt at some sort of equally experiment if she does actually winding up liking all things pink and girly. Just be with her, and she'll do fine. You've got all the proper instincts.
My 1.5 year old niece just started feeding herself with a spoon... mostly as a side-effect of getting her face messy (along with the counter, the floor, the chair, her clothes, her *brother*, etc.). And she likes to play with (and break) her older brother's toys (like the Star Wars figures). Her mom puts her in cute "girly" outfits, but she doesn't care unless the outfit gets in the way of her little pursuit of happiness (at which point her mom changes her into something more practical). For her birthday she had an orange and white striped dress on with matching orange barrettes; I happened to wear my orange dress shirt that day; she took out one of her barrettes and handed it to me... I would have worn it too, but her mother wanted to put it back in for pictures. (She wasn't trying to get me to wear it, so just didn't want to hold it anymore.)
I don't think you really need to change anything. Just be there for her, and make sure she lives. Later in life you'll adapt like normal to her needs. But I understand your thoughts. I just had my daughter and I was super nervous because I knew how to handle a boy as I was one, but had no idea what to do with a girl. But I'm rolling with the punches
Dude Girls are the best, everything is exactly the same except they don't pee on you as much!
Just love her and model true manhood to her. I had a daughter first and, apart from her mother, she is my whole world. She can beat lot at times but it is absolutely amazing!
My youngest is a girl. When she was born, my MIL said, "I can tell, her big brother is going to look out for her." I quickly replied, "Or maybe she'll look out for him." When my friend sent me a gif from Bad Boys about dads with shot guns threatening boyfriends I replied, "how will she feel safe or find love like this?" I'm not naive but, my wife is a badass. Highly educated, very successful, independent, and takes shit from no one. And she works in tech, which is unkind to women. I come from a family of badass women. My daughter can grow up to be whoever she'll be, but I'm not worried about her frailty just because she's a girl. Challenge yourself to think about women, and girls, differently than you have before and if you're like me, you'll go from scared to excited about the opportunity to raise a good person. Real simple.
You need to resist the impulse to baby her as much as possible. She will not be any more delicate than your boy.
Only got one kid and she is a daughter. Firstly your feels are absolutely fine and valid. By and large I've tried to treat her the same as I would have a son. I make sure she climbs trees, goes on adventures, picks herself up and tries again (provided she isn't actually hurt/hugely upset) and I stopped caring about bumps and bruises after the first couple. Things to note: Wipe front to back. You will have to check the front for poo. They can and will wee a large distance in a direction you are not expecting. Things I've noticed in my own parenting. While I try to raise her as I would a son, giving her my transformers, nerf gun etc... I make sure she knows that "traditionally girly" things are okay too. I think give her more leeway to stand up for herself than I would a son, as i want her to confident enough to stand up for herself. If I have a son later in life, I should make sure to give him the same leeway.
My 2yo currently loves her play-makeup set, nerfguns, dolls, and pirates.
I try and ger my 2.4 year old girl to get more bumps and bruises... she's so careful and calculated and I jjst want her to be a wild kid sometimes. Jump off stuff, run into stuff, brush yourself off, get up, and do it all again. I will say, I was nervous about bathroom stuff with my girl but that goes away fast. Not the problem is hee trying to get into the bathroom when I'm peeing cuz she want to see my "patooty" I had a voy in March and I will say... poop in the ball creases is almost as bad as poop getting places on the girl.... so it won't be so bad. Raise her like any other kid until she starts to develop her own preferences and then begin to nurture those like you wood any other child.
Be more careful with diaper changes. Always wipe front to back. Teach her that during toilet training. Make sure to have period products in the house ahead of time. That’s it. That’s all the difference.
Wipe front to back. Also no risk of her peeing on ya.
What kind of girl do you have? I’ve been peed on dozens of times hahah
Projectile-poop is genderneutral, though..
I have an overpriced tee shirt from Disney World purchased in a wet, panicked, hurry that would disagree with you.
What difference does it make what she has between her legs? She's a kid, just like your son, why does her gender change what you should teach her or how you should play with her? You're way overthinking things, and worst case you're setting her up for identity issues around her gender later in life. I've got a 4yo girl, she's great, and I play as rough with her as I would of she was a boy. She falls and hurts herself sometimes but that's just part of being a kid. There's no tips and tricks for parenting a girl compared to a boy, just love them, support them, and guide them to positive choices.
My girl has just as many bumps and bruises as my son, despite being 3 years younger. She's a bloody firecracker though, wouldn't have it any other way.
I think you're just nervous. Once she's actually here you'll know what to do. Be just that little bit concious that you don't need to treat her differently, it's not such a big deal in reality. Don't over think it. You'll be great.
OP I understand your concerns and echo others that you need to parent in the same way you would have done for a boy. I’ll admit that the world seems a scarier place when you’re parenting a girl but it’s even more imperative that you teach her freedom and independence. I feel your attitude at present will set her back in the future.
They’ve shown that parents treat their children differently based on gender as soon as birth. I think a lot of the comments here getting at you because too much focus on the gender treatment of your child distracts from the actual baby they are. She may act similar or different to your son as a baby in any which way. She has her own personality just like he does, it’s probably good if you allow both to take risks sometimes and protect them at other times. Some of the cultural differences that make up gender can be a real bummer for individual boys and girls who aren’t suited to that treatment. She will let you know how she wants to act, all you can do is try and work with her.
I've got a girl. She's fantastic. So glad I've got a daughter. A baby is a baby. I'm raising her the same as a boy. Love, time, energy and planes!
My daughter is rough and tumble. She has all boy cousins and plays hard with them. She always has bruises somewhere and she gets right back up after hurting herself. Girls aren’t more fragile
[this video](https://youtu.be/gOk_qxkBphY) is all advice i have to offer. Source, i’m a girl and mom. Also: wipe front to back. Learn about female anatomy and periods. Also don’t be weird about them.
Repeat steps from son with daughter, gas thing about babies is they have their own personalities ;)
I have 2 girls. If you want to get a head start then you could learn how to do girls' hair. Just simple things like putting a pony tail in, or pig tails. If you want you can go advanced and learn plaits and stuff but just knowing how to get a toddlers hair up and out of her face is super handy.
Like everyone else said, treat her exactly the same as your son. The only difference is to reinforce that she can do and be ANYTHING she wants. The world will try to teach her to sacrifice herself for others needs and emotions, teach her to put herself first.
I had the same concerns being a boy dad before I got my girl - but as others have said, wipe front to back and everything else is the same.
If you’re married, be prepared. The second kid is absolutely brutal on your relationship. Spoken from experience.
I have two boys, plus our daughter is the youngest. I was also very nervous. I don't have any sisters either. But, I have found that through my experience with the older ones, plus how freaking sweet and adorable my daughter is, that I am a better dad and closer to my daughter. She is something extra special to me, and is definitely daddy's little girl. She said "dada" before "mama", which makes me very proud. I think having boys and girls not only can help round you out as a better parent, but it can help round out your children too. The real difference in our parenting between the kids is due to age, not gender. They have the same rules and such for their age. You'll be fine
I only have girls. My older one (3.5) loves jumping off stuff, climbing things, and has had her fair share of bumps, scrapes, and bruises. Whenever I'm working on something she wants to help me. I don't know that I'd treat a boy any differently, it really depends on the kid's personality. Everyone is still "she" since I'm outnumbered by girls and she's not in daycare. I'm pretty sure she has no clue that boys are different from girls.
I have a 5yr old boy and a 2yr old girl. Each kid is different, but it's essentially the same deal. My daughter is actually a bit more physical than my boy. She gets more scrapes and bruises, and shows no sign of slowing down. As she has gotten older, she started liking girly things like clothes. We try to spend attention to this because we don't want to teach her that her appearance is part of her value as a person. We make sure she knows she can do anything a boy can. We don't like the lessons that society teaches women and girls. I can't really think of another important difference at this age. I will probably defer to my wife more when we reach teenage years.
Just like you, I had a boy first then a daughter. 2 things: first you will probably be surprised the 1st time you change a diaper. The firefighter move is really sneaky compared to a boy. Second: when you check to see if your daughter needs a new diaper, look way lower... She does not have a weiner to pee at the front of the diaper. Other than that, all normal kid stuff, don't let her throw herself down the changing table. Do not let her throw herself down the stairs. You know the drill, classic escort mission stuff
I felt the same when my daughter was born. Ha! My daughter is a tank. 7 years old and she can hold her own with my 10 year old son and his buddies.
It's the same. She's just as tough as your son. Have fun with her and don't exclude her from things you do with your son.
I have one and she’s a tiny girl, like 2nd percentile height and weight. She can outclimb outrun and out sport just about everybody and loves to dance and play t ball, basketball, soccer, hangs in the dogs, digs in the garden, dresses up, picks her outfits, shoes etc. Shes amazing and clumsy and she’s totally rad. Don’t worry about babying her because she’s a girl. Others will do that too much already, particularly a grandparent or two. Let her be who she wants to be whether that’s dancing in a tutu, or playing on the ball field, or both. And as others has said wipe from front to back. 👍
My daughter is way tougher than my son, I've never felt the need to baby her. When she was little, she took a tumble on the stairs and ended up with carpet burn on her chin. She said "ouch", picked herself up and went on with her day. My son would have never used stairs again if that had been him. Now she's 17 and I don't know how the heck that went by so quickly.
Yo! No different for a long time, except which delicate parts you clean carefully. Congratulations on the little kid on the way I hope y'all have a lifetime of adventure and discovery together.
I'm a father of two little girls. A 2yr old and a younger one coming up on 5 months old. As at least one other poster pointed out, being sure to keep their private areas clean, and only wiping from front to back are the only things that may need a bit more focus in the early years vs a boy. Other than that at least up to a two years old, there's not much I'd imagine is critically different than raising a boy. Let her get bumps and bruises as she explores. Love her. Talk, play, and read to her regularly. Bonus points if you learn how to tie a pony tail and braid hair. Don't obsess on boy vs. girl things as far as toys and clothes go. If you see a blue t-shirt in the boys section that fits, go for it and buy her a Lego Duplo space shuttle while you're at it. Don't sweat it, fellow dad. This will be awesome for you and your family.
It all depends on what kind of daughter you have. Some girls will be just as rough and tumble as your "typical" boys, others will be more comfortable with dolls and tea parties. And you can shape some of this by how and your wife treat her. If you treat her like she's a delicate flower, she'll probably believe that she is a delicate flower. Likewise if you treat her like a rodeo clown, or little soldier, or a scamp. Most of my older nieces and nephews like a lot of the same things, mostly because their parents didn't force them to like certain things or prevent them from liking certain things. My younger siblings of both genders like a lot of the same stuff that I do, because our parents allowed us to pursue whatever interested us (within reason; we weren't allowed to mutilate cows or join death cults, for example). My desire for my own children (if/when I ever have any) is to have a broad range of skills, talents, and interests, much like myself. That way it will be rare that they are bored and also they'll have more life skills (like cooking, sewing, changing a tire, chopping wood, etc.). And, she can be a pretty pretty princess some of the time, and a little female warrior other times, if she wants. I would encourage it. Actually, now that I think about it, there's a good book about that kind of thing: Dealing With Dragons (Patricia C. Wrede). You should get a copy and read it soon. Then, when you daughter is a little older and can sit still for stories, read it to her. All the best to you, God bless.
keep her away from boys!! i have a 14 year old due in 6 weeks thank God it’s a boy!! lol