The generally accepted idea that men’s and women’s brains work differently has been criticised as “outdated and wrong’ by an Australian psychologist. Professor Gina Rippon has claimed that actually our brains work in much the same way. She believes that any differences in behaviour between the sexes in children and adults are created by the way we are treated, not our gender.

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“There may be some very small differences between the genders but the similarities are far, far greater,” said Professor Gina. She has also voiced her concern that scientists cling onto these stereotypes as a way of supporting the outdated idea that women are not as intellectual as men. “Throughout history, biological explanations have been used as weapons to explain and maintain social difference.”

These claims may come as a surprise to mums with children of each gender as it has been generally accepted that boys and girls think and reason in different ways, even using different parts of the brain. Certainly, experiments have shown that boys seem to be drawn to toys that ove and have wheels, whereas girls like toys that they an nurture even from a very young age.

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Have one of each? Do you treat them differently and are there differences in their behaviour? Let us know what you’ve noticed!

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