Why Are Mothers Better Parents Than Fathers?

Feminine characteristics are thought to be intrinsic to the female facility for childbirth and breast-feeding. Hence, it is popularly believed that the social position of females is biologically mandated to be intertwined with the care of children and a 'natural' dependency on men for the maintenance of mother-child units."

The article “The Distinct, Positive Impact of a Good Dad” focuses a lot on the basic impact of how much of an influence a dad is to a child’s life. It explains the difference between how the father impacts the child’s life in a more “open arms” way whereas, a mother has a more “closed arms” impact. Having a good dad around in a child’s life is more likely to make for a better future for the kid, compared to a child who doesn’t have a good dad in their life or little to no dad at all they have a less likely chance for a better future as studies have shown. Studies have shown that mental health is a huge issue with both genders when they have a strong relationship with their father as to being in a household with a

The differences between gender roles are not so apparent anymore. Men are not always the typical breadwinners and many women are not stay-at-home mothers. An article by Beaupré, Dryburgh, and Wendy (2010) described the transition that many men are going through. According to Beaupré, et al., (2010), fathers were once considered the forgotten parent. “Until recently studies on the family focused mainly on the mothers” (Beaupré, et al., 2010). Fortunately, both parents are now being focused on. Fathers today are much more involved in the pregnancy and birth of their child and their child’s life in general (Beaupré, et al., 2010). Beaupré, et al., (2010) explained that women’s involvement in the labour force could be a factor to this change. Women are more educated than they were in previous years. And while women want to work more, men want to be more involved in their children’s lives (Beaupré, et al., 2010). Fatherhood is occurring later in adulthood. Research stated that the majority of men are very satisfied with their involvement in their children’s lives. (Beaupré, et al., 2010).

One thing that almost everybody will have to deal with at least once in their lifetime is parenting. In parenting, both parents are needed to make the job easier on themselves, their marriage and their child. In the essay The Myth of Co-Parenting: How It Was Supposed to Be. How It Was. by Hope Edelman, Edelman tells her experience with co-parenting. Edelman, along with many women, initially believed that co-parenting was possible. She soon figured out, however, that it was not a realistic goal. Some points that Edelman hits in the essay are the gender roles and societal expectations in parenting, being the nurturer versus being the provider, and how poor communication can ruin

About four in every ten children born in America in 2008 were born outside of marriage, and they are disproportionately minority and poor. “Only about 6 percent of college-educated mothers’ births are nonmarital versus 60 percent of those of high school dropouts” (5). Scholars responded to this by studying single-parent families.

In her article “The Myth of Co-Parenting: How It Was Supposed to Be. How It Was”, author Hope Edelman claims that perhaps the ideal, balanced, and harmonious marriage that many couples yearn for is merely an unachievable myth. Edelman’s anger and frustration drives her essay as she recounts her childhood, analyzes societal gender roles, and narrates her own relationship in order to explore the concept of shared responsibility in a marriage.

There are many different types of parents with diverse parenting styles in the world. Some are efficient in their ways, while others struggle to wonder why their child did not turn out to be everything they hoped. The controversial topic of whether the parent knows what is best for their child hangs over the reader’s head in Amy Chua’s article.

In this session, I will discuss the gender roles in my family. The definition of gender role is the degree to which a person adopts the gender-specific behaviors ascribed by his or her culture (Matsumoto, D. R., & Juang 2013, 156). For example, traditional gender roles recommend that males are aggressive, angry, and unemotional. It goes further and explains that the male should leave the home every day to make a living and be the main wage earner. The traditional gender role for the female purpose is to stay at home and care for the children. It explains that the female is to be nurturing, caring, and emotional (Matsumoto, D. R., & Juang 2013, 156). These traditional roles for female and male are the opposite of one another. It is believed that the culture is likely to influence our perception about gender role in a family. In my family, my parents utilize the traditional gender role. Growing up, my father went to work every day and my mother stayed home with me and my sister. I believe my parents were influence by their parents and their culture to be traditional gender role parents. My father explained to me that they chose traditional parenting role because both sides of the family utilized traditional parenting gender roles. I believe my parents felt pressure to obtain the gender roles of the mother staying home with the children while the father worked. However, when my younger sister was old enough to go to school, my mother started to work. It was believed that when

63 percent of households with an income of $25,000 or less are fatherless, and only 18 percent of households with an income of $75,000 or higher. Almost identical statistics apply to less than high school credentials versus a bachelor’s or graduate education. 62% of parents that have less than a high school education are raising children without their father, and only 22% of parents with a bachelor’s degree and 18% of parents with a graduate degree are living in the same situation (DeBell 2008.) A correlation can be drawn here between education/income and percentage of fatherless households. Generally speaking, as education increases, so will income. As income increases, the percentage of fatherless children and households decreases. However, it could be argued that the income of the household will decrease when the father is gone and not contributing to the finances.

Finally, the author examines how gender personality shapes a woman’s mothering capacities, and thus reproduces the cycle of mothering. The different structures of the oedipal triangle (binary for men, triangular for women) contribute to the formation of gender identity in children. The psychoanalytic object choice also ensures that the heterosexual relationship will result in women mothering and taking on the role of primary caretaker, leading to an asymmetrical organization of parenthood where men are mainly absent or removed. However, male-dominant households ensure that women will remain unfulfilled in the relationship, leading to a desire for a child, and rearing this child in a socially gendered family. In this manner, due to women’s nurturing role and their narcissistic attachment to their daughters, they contribute to the perpetuation of “their own social roles and position in the hierarchy of gender”.

I believe that women are not naturally more nurturing than men. Instead, this idea is a cultural construct. From the archaeological record, it shows that women were the main contributors to child care in the past societies. This was shown by ethnographic analogies, symbolic images, written records, and burials (lecture.) From a biological perspective, women are pregnant for nine months and during that time they are weak and fragile. This leads for the women to stay back and take care of the children. It is essential for the women to take care of children, for they are to be an increase into the population. Because of the high infant mortality in certain societies, it is important to have children being cared for.

Most people assume that parenthood is pure joy, but research shows that it can also be pure misery. In the article “Bundle of Trouble”, Robin W. Simon discusses some of the advantages and disadvantages associated with parenthood. First, Simon notes that parenthood has several emotional benefits, like the prospect of being a grandparent and the satisfaction of watching a child grow up. However, Simon argues that the exorbitant cost of raising children is a major source of stress among parents. Lastly, Simon argues that there is a lack of social support (i.e. family, social institutions) to alleviate the social and economic issues associated with parenthood. One of the most significant ideas presented in the article is that raising a child

Parenting involves a lot more than just fathering or mothering a child. Often times, genetics don’t play a role in parenting at all anymore. Someone who parents is merely a person who takes on the responsibility of raising a child from a young age to adulthood. This can be through birth, adoption or foster care. Due to the large scale shift in society and offspring over time, I will be using the term “caregiver” to signify any person who consistently cares for a child throughout the rest of this paper. Regardless of the title used, each person ultimately performs the same duties involved with parenting and it is no task easily achieved.

There are several parenting styles which guide children throughout their life. These parenting styles can be either good or bad and this will have an effect on the child; either a positive or a negative one. This essay investigates the parenting styles from which emerge questions about the role of the mother and the father. It also focuses on the ways that either too much mothering or too much fathering might have an effect on the child’s identity later on in its life.

By having a father in the home it enables the child to see a masculine role inside the home. The father’s role is not to act as an authoritarian for the mother for punishment, but to also give the child love.