Rough or dirty play

Yesterday I read an article appealing for boyhood and it really struck a cord. I have observed that little girls play completely different from little boys. Little boys tend to be very active , more cheeky and more likely to play a bit rougher and act on impulse. 

That day, we went downstairs to play with lanterns. The playground slides were all wet after the rain. Cayson went directly for it, touching the wet slides , the floor, the fallen leaves . I didn't stop him as I think it's great sensory play. He was also amazed and delighted at what he's touching. 

As Cayen was having a cough , I didn't want him to run immediately after dinner, I gave him some bubbles to blow. So he was blowing bubbles non stop. This other little boy who joined us later was excited and started to try catch the bubbles. I was totally cool with that but I could hear the mum's disproving tone about him being all over the place, especially when he almost tripped and fell. He tried to play on the slide but again was greeted with objections as the slides were wet. Then, he reached out to try to touch our noisy lantern which was understandable as kids are naturally curious , but again the mum reminded him not to touch our things . Actually , if I think about it, he was just doing all the typical boy things - loud, fast and messy. And actually the mum was trying to teach him the right values too, and to avoid him from dirtying or hurting himself. And many may say it's good upbringing. 

However, in one setting, I heard so many "no"s that makes it hard for a little boy to really have a boyhood. Hence, when I chanced into the article , it resonated. Is it better to let them run wild or stop them in their paths when they are "not behaving well"? 

For those who has both daughters and sons, do you see and feel the difference? 





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