If you could choose the gender of your baby, would you? What would you prefer - a girl or a boy? Why?

To me, it really doesn't matter if my next child turns out to be a girl or a boy. Having another boy (my firstborn is a boy) would be fine; I'd already know what to expect, at least to a certain extent. I can imagine my two boys growing up real close as they would have lots in common, boys being boys. Having a girl, on the other hand, would be something novel, and I expect it can be a totally different experience, bringing up a girl. But then, who knows, really?

I think that most preferences are based on stereotypes anyway, on our notions of what boys and girls are. Boys are more active, more rough. Girls are more dainty, sweeter and emotional. Some cultures believe boys are more able to take on responsibility, while some others believe girls will be more inclined to take care of their elderly parents later on.

If you're intent on having a baby of a particular gender, there's a myriad of references out there that might help (there is still a lot of debate about its efficacy). But it's equally important to introspect and identify your motives for choosing a particular gender over the other, and how you would react should the methods fail.