 length. Girls (particularly pre-pubescent ones) also have greater sensitivity to noise and tone of voice. As a result, some girls may hear yelling when there is only firmness in an adult’s voice, or take feedback on their work as negative criticism, even when it’s constructive.
Girls and boys react differently to stress.
Hormones shape how girls’ and boys’ brains react to fear and stress. Under stress, everybody releases hormones such as epinephrine or cortisol, which prepare the body for fight or flight. However, recent research shows that females also produce oxytocin, a hormone connected to childbirth that is thought to enhance connection and caring. From a species survival standpoint, this response may increase the probability that females will take care of offspring or band together when threatened. Deak terms this the “double whammy” that makes risk-taking harder. “This increases the likelihood that a threatened female will get out of the situation rather than fight. Boys, on other hand, get a surge of testosterone, which can modulate fear and promote aggression.” Deak encourages parents to help their girls take important risks and assert themselves in challenging situations.
Anatomy is not destiny.
The research does not claim that all girls’ (or boys’) brains work the same way, or that a girl’s behavior is predestined by brain chemistry. Catherine Steiner-Adair, Ed.D., co-author of Full of Ourselves: A Wellness Program to Advance Girl Power, Health and Leadership, notes also that the research does not fit all girls. “If 20 percent of girls do not fit this pattern, that’s one out of five, and that’s a pretty big percentage. We therefore shouldn’t make any assumptions about all girls’ behavior being the same.”
David Walsh, Ph.D., author of Smart Parenting, Smarter Kids, points out that while brain science tells us there are differences between boy and girl brains, it is important to note that no two brains are alike and that biology does not mean destiny. It is important not to lock kids into stereotyped expectations, but to let them explore and get involved in a wide range of activities.