7 Awesome (And AWFUL!) Facts About Toddler Boys

Katherine Stahl, a writer for Popsugar and fellow toddler mom, knows what it's like to be the mom of a toddler boy.  She understands how crazy hard and crazy wonderful it can be, often at the same time.

Here are some things she says you need to know about being the mother of a toddler boy:

1. Boys keep you running.

My daughter was busy, but she didn't have nearly the speed my son has developed in his short life. And that's why, in the last few months, I've begun feeling real empathy for those parents who put their kids on leashes. Pretty much every mom and teacher at my daughter's preschool know Sam's first name because they see me darting around the halls yelling it at drop-off and pick-up every single day.

2. They are fearless.

It took my daughter almost three years to go down a slide by herself without a prolonged internal struggle. My son went down his first slide, which included a rather dangerous and extended climb up an open ladder, at 18 months. I didn't even notice until he was halfway down (mom of the year over here). Before his first birthday, he was quite happy to jump in a pool, whether an adult was watching or not, wildly approach animals of all shapes and sizes, and launch himself off coffee tables, beds, and stairs, confident that either someone would catch him or he'd survive the fall.

3. They shake it off.

While my daughter's favorite song might be “Shake It Off”, my son literally embodies the spirit of the song. Fell down a few stairs? He'll walk it off. Ran head first into a table? He'll give it a quick rub, and he's off and running. Even the scariest spills warrant just a few tears and quick hug from mom, and that makes him kind of awesome.

All these things are so true!  I couldn't have said it better myself.

In my head, I can already hear the moms of little girls coming out to say that this isn't specific to boys. I hear them saying that girls are these things too. It's true, girls can be these things, but it's really just not the same. Here's what Stahl has to say about that:

“Boys are different.” It was refrain I heard many times when I was pregnant with my now 21-month-old son, Sam. My daughter was almost 3 when he was born, and because she was my first and only, I figured all kids were pretty much like her: adventurous but initially cautious of new situations, overtly emotional (or should I say erratic?), and in my mind, wild because she was into everything, was constantly dancing and gyrating, and was often seen wearing few, if any, clothes. But, almost two years later, I've learned there's a difference between spirited and wild. My daughter is the former, and my son is most definitely the latter. He's all boy, and man, boys are different.

What else can you expect from a toddler boy?  There's more to learn about the terrifying and terrific boy behaviors you might see from your toddler at Popsugar.