Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[sejpdw]

What's the meaning of "inattentive" in this passage?

" Thirty pairs of parents were questioned within twenty-four hours after the birth of their first child. They were asked to describe their baby. Hospital information on the babies showed that the fifteen boy babies and the fifteen girl babies did not differ on such objective data as birth length, weight, irritability, etc. But the parents said that girl babies were softer, smaller, prettier, and more inattentive than the boy babies. The fathers tended to describe the babies in this way more than the mothers. "

[CP]

Inattentive means not paying attention, being distracted. The parents described the newborn girls as more inattentive than the newborn boys. How attentive can a brand-new baby be, anyway? Brother!
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