Image: Flickr/Stephanie Sicore

“Boy, n.: a noise with dirt on it.” (Not Your Average Dictionary)

Anyone who has a boy knows the definition above is lacking one critical component: the smell! Sometime around the age of four, that Y chromosome kicks in and little boys start to emit a smell that is some combination of freshly-cut grass, sweat, and farm animal. They move from small, toddling, whirling dervishes to larger, dirtier, stinkier versions of themselves.

It’s been said that boys are harder to raise than girls — up until around the age of 10. Then they get much easier, while girls are the opposite. We’re not big on gender stereotypes at ScreamFree, but this one may be true. Boys will be boys.

So, if you have a little boy (or perhaps a boy who used to be little and now isn’t so little anymore), buckle up and enjoy the ride. Cheer them on as they seek out adventure and attempt to satisfy their endless curiosity about how stuff works. Get them outside as much as possible so they can burn off all that energy. More than anything, take a moment to remember for yourself just how much fun it can be to play in the dirt.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about girls — if we can figure them out between now and then!