Could having sons be this dangerous?

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I originally read about this in 2002, but found this article again yesterday.

So the way I figure...I gave birth to 4 sons, so my life will be shortened by 136 weeks.

According to this article, if I had gone on to have 12 daughters, then I would be okay, because having 3 daughters cancels out the bad effects of having 1 son.

Well there is not anything I can do about this now. :)

And I should also add, they are worth it.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just being born shortened my lifespan too!

Logan

Susan Anderson said...

Three sons here, and I agree with you...well worth it!

=)

Tyler Heasley said...

Wait. How do they know how long you would have lived without having sons? I mean, how do they know your life will be shortened?

Matt and I are writing a new Thanksgiving hymn. I posted the first draft for the words on my blog. Let me know what you think!

darlene said...

I don't buy it that sons are harder on the body to produce. I don't think boys statistically weigh more than girls at birth. That needs to be backed up by extensive modern surveys. Babies' weights have more to do with their mother's diets during pregnancy.
Now, having adult girls as opposed to boys may be a little more convincing because typically adult girls spend more time with their mothers than adult boys do. That could add to the mother's pleasure and comfort because she gets more attention and can see her grandchildren more frequently.
I don't think we need to worry, Jill, because we are both close to our sons and they all value having us involved in our grandchildren's lives. I could imagine pining away for my grandchildren if I never got to see them. One's longevity may be more of a case for staying nearby your happy, close family.

grandmapeg said...

I'm not sure I agree with this article. I think every pregnancy can be a little hard on anyone. I think where having a boy can shorten a mother's life is by the scary, adventuresome things they put us mothers through as they grow up :-))

Mary said...

I agree with Grandmapeg. My boys are definitely more challenging than my daughter, but I saw how the daredevil exploits of my 3 brothers put the gray hairs on my mom's head!

True or not, those of us with sons would agree that a longer life without our boys would just be empty years!

Dad and Susan said...

Hmmm. Food for thought, but just a light snack. Love, Dad and Susan

Grandma Honey said...

Right, I agree Susan, just a light snack :) Not going to lose sleep over this one...I think it's rather bizarre. The strange part about it is...if 1 boy takes 34 weeks off the mom's life, and then 3 girls are suppose to put those 34 weeks back on her life??

Valerie said...

So silly in my opinion. You find the funniest things! :)

kelly said...

Yikes, I guess I just need 8 more daughters then, except, I think that in itself might somehow shorten my life.

C Dawn's bucket said...

What a silly article....somehow I'll take whatever having my boys does to me and my lifespan....

I like multiple periods in a row....can you tell?

Karen Mortensen said...

Well, I don't know. Tom's mom had 6 boys and 5 girls. She is still alive and is 80 years old.

Lynn said...

Jill, my SON wanted to use my computer yesterday and I had left it open to this blog about SONS. haha... Thanks for brightening my day and for starting an enlightening, funny conversation here. He was particularly entrigued about the part of daughters "balancing out" a son. Oh my...

Chris and Cortney Walker said...

firstmy boys weighed under 7 pounds each so, I have that going for me and speaking as a person that has 3 sisters and no brothers, I think boys are better and EASIER than girls. I really would have thought the opposite. If this is true I would have to say that is is well worth it!

Grandma Honey said...

I agree they are worth it, Not having raised daughters, I can only guess about this, but, it seems boys are harder the first 5 years and then after that they seem easier than the girls.

Richard said...

Wendy says the cumulative effect of prolonged exposure to hairspray associated with the raising of daughters, is potentially more dangerous than raising any number of boys.

Eileen said...

Oh, I don't know about this one!
I have three boys and two girls, and I think the girls are the ones shortening my life here!
All the best,
Eileen

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