Physical growth

Between the big growth stages of infancy and adolescence, boys and girls grow in height and weight at about the same
slow but steady rate. There aren't notable differences between the sexes until late elementary school – that's when girls
start to grow taller faster, although boys catch up and exceed them within a few years.

Motor skills
Boys' gross motor skills (running, jumping, balancing) tend to develop slightly faster, while girls' fine motor skills (holding
a pencil, writing) improve first. For this reason, girls may show an interest in art (painting, coloring, crafts) before boys.

Boys are also more physically aggressive and impulsive, as revealed by studies of their brains. The pleasure center of
the brain actually lights up more for boys when they take risks. That's not to say that girls aren't active risk-takers, only
that, on average, boys are more so.

Individual variation and experience matter quite a bit. Boys raised in a household where art and music are appreciated
may want to learn a musical instrument rather than play soccer, and girls raised in a physically active environment may
love to go rock climbing. On the other hand, some boys raised in a sporty family may prefer drawing or music, while
some girls raised in an artistic environment would rather play sports.

Verbal skills
Researchers say it's possible that sex-related genes or hormones account for the different ways the brains of boys and
girls react to human speech.

More boys than girls are late talkers, and boys may use more limited vocabularies. Girls tend to be better at reading
nonverbal signs, like tone of voice and expression, which also makes them better communicators early on because they
can connect feelings and words faster.