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Well this is the third time I've sat down to write a post. The first time I got called away to fix a broken toilet. Don't ask me how children break the mechanism that flushes the toilet, but they do so regularly. We have to replace the inside of the tank about every six months. We have 5 so that can add up to a large amount of time, that I ( or Keith) had rather be doing something else. The second time 2 of my grown daughters and all of my teenage girls were having a discussion on how I raise girls verses how I raise boys. It got so loud and opinionated that I decided to wait until later, after I processed the information. I should say expectations of what I expect my girls to do verses what I expect my boys to do.. I know I do expect my girls to learn how to do everything that I can do. They all know how to run my household if I'm not here. They can all tend to children from age newborn up. Could my boys ? NO. I know, I know, I should be teaching them all the same thing. We had an incident with a boy that I wasn't happy with. I guess that made me a little nervous leaving smaller kids with teenage boys. Yes I know some brothers take care of their younger sibling just great. Our family dynamics are a little different being we have such a large family made up of different sibling groups. I am very mindful of that fact. With all that being said, I don't expect the girls to do some things either. All of my teenage girls bedrooms are upstairs. All of my teenage boys bedrooms are downstairs (as in the basement). The boys aren't allowed upstairs and the girls aren't allowed downstairs. The youngest children are all on the main floor. We do have a camera and some door alarms in place for safety. I would not think twice about one of my teenage girls being in my 6 years old daughters rooms but would freak out if one of the teenage boys went into the same room. So if a bed needs to be stripped to be washed I think nothing of asking one of the girls to do it. I do expect the boys to help with laundry. The girls don't weed eat or cut grass or use a tiller in the garden but the boys all have. So I guess I'm a little old fashioned in the way I'm raising the kids. It is working for us so far, and if it works why fix it.