> He hasn’t been allowed outside at school all week; it’s too cold

This is not the first time I read this, so it must be true, but it's the craziest idea ever. Not allowing kids to play outside (not making them go outside, regardless of the weather) is criminal.

I'm not sure this has anything to do with boys vs. girls though; I have 3 kids, two boys and a girl, and while the three of them love to play outside the one who likes it the most is the girl.

She's 6 and will very happily spend a whole afternoon jumping on a trampoline under light rain, as she did yesterday with no harm to herself or her health.