«Help, girls are being favoured at our son's school!»

Our son, 10, thinks that the girls at his school are favoured by the teachers . In gymnastics, the boys are always told to give fewer body checks, while the girls are never reprimanded. In subject lessons, too, the girls' whining is listened to much more than the boys are listened to. What should I do?
This is what our team of experts says:
Nicole Althaus: Sprechen Sie mit der Lehrerin über den Eindruck Ihres Sohnes, ohne Vorverurteilung. Meine Töchter hatten stets das Gefühl, von der Schule als Nachhilfe für die schwachen und faulen Jungs missbraucht zu werden. Letztlich werden wohl beide kindlichen Eindrücke nicht vollkommen falsch, aber auch nicht vollkommen richtig sein.
Nicole Althaus
Talk to the teacher about your son's impression, without pre-judgement. My daughters always had the feeling that they were being abused by the school as tutors for the weak and lazy boys. Ultimately, both children's impressions will probably not be completely wrong, but not completely right either.
Stefanie Rietzler: Das Leben ist leider nicht immer fair. Solche kleineren Ungerechtigkeiten sind aber eine Möglichkeit, das Kind in seiner Frustrationstoleranz zu stärken. Sie können Ihrem Sohn Gehör schenken und ihm zutrauen, dass er mit dieser Situation umgehen kann. Unternehmen müssen Sie nichts.
Stefanie Rietzler
Unfortunately, life is not always fair. However, such minor injustices are an opportunity to strengthen your child's frustration tolerance. You can listen to your son and trust him to be able to deal with this situation. You don't have to do anything.
Peter Schneider: Bevor Sie nun das grosse Genderfass aufmachen von wegen Feminisierung der Schule und der daraus folgenden Benachteiligung der Knaben würde ich den Ball eher flach halten. Wenn Ihr Sohn solche Ungerechtigkeiten empfindet, ermutigen Sie ihn, diese in der Schule selbst und möglichst konkret anzusprechen. Nehmen Sie ihn ernst, aber machen Sie keinen unfruchtbaren Geschlechterkampf daraus.
Peter Schneider
Before you open up the big gender barrel about the feminisation of school and the resulting discrimination against boys, I would keep my head down. If your son feels such injustices, encourage him to address them at school himself and as specifically as possible. Take him seriously, but don't turn it into a fruitless battle of the sexes.


Our team of experts:
Nicole Althaus, 49, is editor-in-chief of magazines and a member of the editorial board of "NZZ am Sonntag", columnist and author. She initiated and managed the mum blog on "Tagesanzeiger.ch" and was editor-in-chief of "wir eltern". Nicole Althaus is the mother of two children aged 18 and 14.
Stefanie Rietzler is a psychologist, author ("Clever lernen", "Erfolgreich lernen mit ADHS") and runs the Academy for Learning Coaching in Zurich.
www.mit-kindern-lernen.ch
Peter Schneider, 59, works as a psychoanalyst and columnist in Zurich. Until 2017, he was Professor of Developmental and Educational Psychology in Bremen; he currently teaches the history and theory of psychoanalysis in Berlin.
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