Boys will be boys

So, it's been on my mind for a while to read up on what is known about differences between boys' and girls' language development.  Now, don't get me wrong, K.C. and L.C. are perfect in every way - or at least quite age-appropriate in their development - but I have noticed how several of our friends daughters seem to have much more advanced language skills than our boys.

I'm not sure how much of this difference is gender-based and how much is due to the fact that our kids are working on learning two to three languages.  The answer is probably a bit of both.  I can't say that the difference does not occasionally make me question some of our parenting decisions, but then I remember all the positive things that I have seen come out of multilingualism.

In any case, it turns out that my curiosity about the gender issue peaked at just the right time, as there was a recent study published which looked at the brain's response to language input and showed a biological basis for the differences people have long observed between boys and girls.

Since research also supports the fact that learning multiple languages eventually strengthens overall language skills, I feel pretty comfortable with the path our family is on and expect that the boys' bilingualism will help out in the end.