Food for thought on breaking stereotypes

The biggest difference between boys and girls is how people treat them. I've admired these words of IW Gregorio, surgeon by training, young adult writer by passion.

- Sonika Sethi

My oft-repeated request to mothers is: If I can treat my girls just a little like boys, why can’t you treat boys a little like girls? Why, after all, do we teach boys to sympathise with a crying girl rather than to empathise with her? Sympathy offers pity; empathy seeks understanding. A truly meaningful gesture doesn’t just acknowledge pain, it tries to comprehend its root cause.

Sometimes, that shift in perspective is all it takes to nurture deeper, more respectful relationships.