Boys and Girls are Different, Exhibit A: Sticks

My kids love sticks. All four of my kids love sticks. But the other day I realized that my 3 boys play with sticks very differently from how my girl plays with sticks. Here is my best attempt at describing some of the differences.

Boy Stick Play:
I admit I haven't done an exhaustive study, but based on my own 3 subjects, here are some things you might expect from a boy who has just found a stick. Understand, of course, that stick is somewhat broadly defined, and can include a range of items, including small twigs found outside, random kitchen utensils, crochet hooks, toothbrushes, brooms, or toilet plungers. Anything goes, as long as it is shaped like, well, a stick.

As soon as the boy picks up the stick, it transforms. The stick is no longer a stick. It is a lightsaber, or a sword, or a gun, or Harry Potter's magic wand. In other words, it is a weapon. And the boy wields it like a weapon, looking for a dueling partner, regardless of whether the candidate happens to have their own "stick." The stick gets swung around, in completely unpredictable motions, endangering everything in its unpredictable path. Moms shield themselves. Boys are banished to areas where they can do less damage. Moms also get frustrated as they search endlessly for household items that have been commandeered for "stick" use. Eventually, boys get their "sticks" taken away. Since my oldest is now ten years old, I have simply accepted that this is normal. Isn't this just the way kids play with sticks?

Girl Stick Play:
BUT THEN... When we were at the playground the other day, my daughter picked up a stick. A large stick. I prepared to run for cover. Then she started "sweeping" the mulch with it. I just watched in awe. It wasn't a weapon. Nobody was getting hurt. The opposite end of the stick was actually... on the ground! THEN she started playing in the mulch. All those little "sticks" of wood. But she didn't throw them. They didn't go in anyone's hair, or hit anyone in the eye. Instead, she made a birthday cake, with a longer stick as a candle. THEN we were going for a walk. She was collecting sticks. I sighed, expecting a full-on stick battle when we got home. But instead, she poked every one of the sticks in my front yard. She was planting "trees."

The funny thing is that she still loves to play lightsabers, or have imaginary adventures with my boys. But she plays lightsabers, get this, with our toy lightsabers! And not with my toothbrush!