#donthit

I was at the park with my 4 year old nephew one time, and we were sitting on a bench, and there was a mother and her little boy also sitting on the bench, as well as another mother and her little girl. The little girl and boy started squabbling, like little kids do, and then the girl hit the boy, and the boy hit back. The mother of the little boy said "Bayden (guessing the spelling) don't hit girls!", whereas the mother of the little girl just said, "Don't hit, okay?"

And it made me realise that in the fights that I see little kids have, when the girl gets hit by the boy, the adult always says something along the lines of 'don't hit girls', whereas when another child hits a boy, it's usually just 'don't hit'

So why are boys and girls being told different things?

'Don't hit girls' is being pressed into kids while they're young, that simple phrase. Obviously everybody should be taught not to hit girls, but it is also important that they don't hit anyone else either.

'Don't hit anybody' would be a better choice of words.