Sex on the Brain ...

Unfortuately, this is not going to be a 'dirty post,' I merely thought that I would catch someone's attention. I am reading the book, shown to the left, and loving it. I have always been interested in brain biology (although it is crazy), gender differences, and of course anything related to the processes of learning. Sex on the Brain: The Biological Differences Between Men and Women is certainly a 'pop-science' read, but it is laced with tidbits of information from countless sources. Needless to say, it has taken me awhile to absorb and process the information. I have only made it to chapter 4 thus far; therefore, this little posting will not be a review of the book, just some casual evening musings.

The last chapter that I completed, titled 'Sex Differences in Emotion' was extremely intriguing. The book cites a 1996 study from the National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD) that describes the initial findings of a study regarding emotional bonding. The results revealed that the level of engagement a mother has with a child and how the mother behaves with the child makes more of a difference in emotional development rather than if the mother is home or working outside of the home. While interesting, this is not the most shocking find. Working directly with parents within a clinical environment, I have found this statement to be fairly accurate for the majority of preschoolers that I have worked with.

The study goes on to report more specific findings in the area of male/female attachment. It cites 58% of boys who have mothers working outside the home (for more than 30 hours per week) are securely attached and 65% of boys who have 'stay at home' mothers are securely attached. Conversely, 66% of girls who have mothers working outside the home (for more than 30 hours per week) are securely attached and 58% of girls who have 'stay at home' mothers are securely attached. This to me, and to the researches conducting the work, this is an extremely interesting find, which contradicts traditional expectations of boys and girls.The book postulates that boys tend to be more emotionally vulnerable to stresses of separation and the fact that it may be more difficulty for boys to feel secure. (It also goes on to describe the many ways boys are more demanding when compared to girls... but not in a boy-bashing way). It further states that boys may need more support and girls need increased opportunities to explore new environments. Without the supports, boys tend to act out aggressively and girls tend to be withdrawn, which I would like to add, impacts learning and a child's overall level of 'teachability.'

I suppose that I am finding this all interesting as it is this time of year that parents within the clinic are challenged with the decision to send their child to kindergarten to hold them back (with school districts threatening to withdraw special education services unless the child continues). My casual read is loosely highlighting a growing body of research indicating boys need more time in order to develop in order to be 'ready' for school (or we can just change teaching styles, but that it an entirely different debate). I have noticed clinicians (myself included) tend to give great weight to maturity and the social demands of school, while parents tend to focus on their child's academic skills and intellect. I firmly believe that we need to encourage a 'holisitc' view of children and a 'realistic' picture of the demands of school to educators and parents. I can see that I am slowing growing tangential, so I must end. In closing, I would love to see more 'pop-science' works written in order to promote a greater understanding of different learning styles, sex differences, emotional maturity, as well as 'teachability.'