'The world is choosing daughters, but here is my case for the "boy mum".'

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I've been seeing the headlines and memes popping up in my feed lately: "Parents Are Now Preferring Girls Over Boys."

As a MOB (Mother of Boys) only, I'll be honest, it makes me feel a little bit defensive. Okay, a lot defensive.

For thousands of years, the world was obsessed with sons — for all the wrong reasons. We're talking "property law" reasons.

As we witnessed in the world of Jane Austen's era in Pride and Prejudice, if you didn't have a son, your house literally went to your annoying, distant male cousin.

Watch: How do we raise boys to become good men? On Parenting Out Loud. Post continues below.

In China, the One-Child Policy (which only ended in 2015) turned "son preference" into a desperate "survival" strategy.

Leading to the heartbreaking reality of 60 million "missing" women who were either never born due to sex-selective abortion or who disappeared from records due to abandonment and infanticide.

We've moved past the era of children and their genders being a preference as either "farm labour" or "heirs", and thank goodness for that.

It's also worth noting that in 2026, our understanding of gender is far more fluid. While a child may be assigned a gender at birth, we now recognise that identity is a journey.

Parenting in this era means holding space for the fact that a child's true self might evolve beyond initial labels, and being ready to support that person, whoever they turn out to be.

The shift towards daughter preference.

Global trends tell this story: between shifting birth rates and adoption data, the historic bias toward boys is shrinking in almost every corner of the world.

Among couples who adopt, some agencies report that 80 percent of prospective parents specifically request a girl.

We've reached a point where orphanages are full of perfectly fine boys, nothing wrong with them, except the fact they weren't born female.

The "Toddler Tornado" vs. Reality.

And as a boy mum, I've heard it all. The, "are you going to try for a girl?" (as if I am somehow incomplete), and my personal least favourite, "a son's yours for life, until they find a wife."

I'll admit, there were years when I looked at the 'girl mums' with envy. When my sons were toddlers, I couldn't go to a café that didn't have a fenced-in 'run area'.

I'd see girls sitting quietly, happily colouring in, while taking mine anywhere felt like a roaming localised tornado. In those moments, 'easier' looked pretty good.

My boys are now teen and tween-aged and the 'run area' is a distant memory.

We can finally do dinner like normal humans, proving that while the days are long, the 'I-can't-take-you-anywhere' stage is actually remarkably short.

The "tornado" has settled into something much more profound.

Annaliese is a mum to a tween and a teen. Image: Supplied.

The "magical truth".

If I'm truly honest, one of the biggest regrets of my life is the (now) shameful gender disappointment I felt when I found out I was pregnant with my second son.

I wish I'd known sons are magical in a way I couldn't have known then. I've also since learnt that children aren't defined by their chromosomes; they are defined by their characters. And so are the bonds you have with them.

I remember a friend's mum, who has children of both genders, once telling me: "You don't know love until you've had a son."

I can't speak to the love of a daughter, but the love of a son? It's a deeply personal, one-of-a-kind love story that belongs only to the two of you.

It's not just about energy and dirt—it's about raising good men.

Many parents now lean toward daughters out of a belief that they are more manageable, in contrast to a 'growing anxiety' for the next generation of men.

While the world worries about raising sons in the 'toxic masculinity' era, I see it differently. I feel like it's a massive privilege to have the responsibility of raising the next generation of good men.

The bond a son has with his mother is the template for his life's relationships with women. What an incredible, beautiful responsibility that is.

That isn't a weight to carry, it's a privilege. But it requires us to shift the narrative and truly believe and reinforce that our boys are born inherently good.

When we believe in them, they begin to believe in themselves, carrying that blueprint of integrity and kindness into adulthood as their North Star.

Because behind the noise, they are soft, they are empathetic, and they are fiercely, quietly protective of their mums.

While my friends with teenage daughters are currently navigating eye-rolls and door-slams, my boys are affectionate, sweet, and, dare I say, easy to be around.

Although, in my childhood 'girl-house,' a fight meant a door slam or a silent treatment. In my 'boy-house'? It's a level of physicality that takes some serious getting used to. But just like the 'toddler tornado' years, I've been told, 'this too shall pass.'

Tying the bond, not losing the son.

And as for them "leaving me" when they find a wife? I don't buy it. If they even choose to have a wife, if we do our jobs right, we aren't losing them; we're just expanding the circle.

Raising boys takes guts, perseverance, and a lot of energy. But the pay-off is a unique, protective loyalty that I wouldn't trade for anything.

To the mums who are currently in the 'cafe run area' phase: keep going. The dirt washes off, and the "tornado" eventually settles into a young man who will stand a little taller just because you're in the room.

While gender might be the headline, it's not the whole story. Our children aren't defined by a checkbox on an ultrasound; they are individuals, and the bond you build with them is as unique as a thumbprint.

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Feature image: Supplied.