Sons and Daughters

Raising sons and daughters
Requires two methodologies,
Both seemingly the same.
The more siblings there are
The better chance they can
Plead plausible deniability,
The only child has it worst.
By the age of three or four
They know how to lie with
A straight face and how to
Protect their stuff by hitting.
Girls tend to lie and boys to
Hit though both use both,
They play to their strong suit.
Both appear angelic until
About eight or nine when they begin
Their guerrilla war of independence:
Tokens in the hallway then other
Rooms as their empire of dirty
Clothes and muddy shoes grows.
Boys are a bit slower in guile but
Catch up by about 42 whereas
Girls can fool you if they are to
Survive and learn to keep their
Diaries well hidden and in code.
They have no choice as they, unlike
Boys, must play for keeps at least
Until they learn how to use the pill.
Boys tend to hang elsewhere after
Puberty returning for food and
Clean clothes you have washed,
They enter the cloud of hormones
And never emerge being boys
In search of toys their whole life.
Girls tend to enter the cloud fixated
On males or careers until about 28
When they switch to both plus kids
As primary until at 50 they come
Out of the cloud with the same
Diamond hard minds they had at
Eleven plus knowledge and
Experience which is why in chess
The Queen is the most formidable
Chess piece on the board.
Grandmas largely run the world
Pulling strings on kids and
For the most part I concur
Grandkids making the
World safer better,
If elected to a
Public office
They do the
Best job
And
On
The whole
Are far preferable
To Grandpas like me.
Though, I am a Great-grandpa.