Son preference facts for kids

Son preference is when people or families prefer to have sons instead of daughters. This idea has been around for a very long time and is found in many different cultures. It shows up in all kinds of families, from kings and queens deciding who will rule next, to farming families deciding who will inherit land.

Having sons has often been seen as a way to gain respect and importance. Sons were also sometimes thought to give families an advantage in terms of their genes and money.

This preference for sons can affect how many children families have. Sometimes, parents might keep having children until they have the number of sons they want. This usually doesn't happen with daughters. Families with sons have sometimes been seen as happier or more stable. Also, having sons might encourage fathers to be more involved in raising children. Today, son preference is common in places like South and East Asia, but it can also be seen in Western countries.

Son Preference in Different Cultures

A good example of son preference comes from the Igbo people in Nigeria. In their traditions, a man's importance is partly judged by how many sons he has. A man with many sons is seen as successful and wealthy. If an Igbo man dies without having any sons, he might be seen as having not achieved much. He might not even receive special traditional ceremonies after his death.

However, how son preference is shown can change over time and with different situations. For instance, studies have shown that son preference became less common among later generations of Turkish immigrants living in Germany.

Also, researchers have found that when mothers have more education, families tend to care less about the gender of their children. This means son preference can decrease. For example, in Taiwan, son preference has gone down since the 1990s, and this change is linked to mothers having higher levels of education.

How Son Preference Affects Families

Sometimes, a strong preference for sons can lead to families trying to choose the gender of their baby before it is born. When a daughter is born instead of a son in cultures with strong son preference, parents might feel disappointed. This is called gender disappointment.

In some cases, families might invest more money or resources in the child whose gender they prefer. This could mean spending more on their education or healthcare.

See also

• Son preference in China
• Patrilineality
• Patronymic
• Male heir
• Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup
• Human reproductive ecology