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Boys or girls: what’s harder to raise? New research may surprise you

Reports show boys are more likely to drop out of college, less apt to finish high school

ORLANDO, Fla. – The list of most popular baby names for 2023 is out and minimal, natural, holistic names are passe.

The theme this year is maximalist. The top boy’s names include Amadeus, Andromeda, and Draco. And for girls, it’s Ambrosia, Cleopatra, and Venus.

While everyone agrees the names are beautiful, determining the easier gender to raise depends on who you ask.

New research shows parents of boys might have a harder job. Reports show boys are more likely to drop out of college, less apt to finish high school and five times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD.

In a recent study of more than 13,000 parents, researchers found that those with at least one son experienced faster cognitive decline compared to those without sons, suggesting that parents of boys have brains that age quicker.

However, a 2018 Gallup poll found that 54% of Americans said boys were easier to raise than girls, while only 27% said girls were easier, and 14% said there was no difference.

Some research suggests girls are better communicators in the younger years, but this may change later on. In one British study, two thirds of parents said teenage girls were harder to raise than teenage boys.

In the end parenting is tough work, no matter what the sex of the child.

According to the World Health Organization, the ratio of male to female births is about 105 boys to 100 girls. This means that about 51% of deliveries result in a baby boy and 49% in a baby girl.


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