The Untitled Mommy vs. Daddy Project: Gender Roles in Parenting

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The bond between a parent and child is unlike any other; however, the relationship between the daughter and her mother and between the daughter and her father can differ greatly, but usually contain the same key points. There are certain circumstances in which a daughter will go to her mom in preference to her father for particular advice, permissions, or compensation, and to her father over her mother for other reasons. For example, the parents’ punishments, advice, rules, and willingness to grant permissions and favors may vary, prompting the child to go to different parents to accomplish different goals. Her mother’s past experiences and ability to recall those memories give her a greater understanding of the way her daughter might think and therefore influences the way she parents in relation to the father.

A daughter may be more inclined to seek the advice of her mother because her mother was once a young girl as well and knows how it feels to be in a specific situation, and can connect to the daughter easily. She can draw on past memories and prove herself as an advisor because she has actually been in such a predicament as the daughter may currently be in herself. The personal stories the mother can provide give her credence and make it easier on the daughter to envision herself handling the situation in the way her mother suggested.

The permissions granted by the mother are typically less than those granted by the father. The understanding and personal experience that compels the girl to take the female advice also hinders the chances of her receiving some desired permission. Children frequently ask their parents for money, and mothers may not give quite as much or quite as often as the fa...

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...consequences the daughter might face when in the real world later on. Methods used by the father are typically more reasonable and realistic because they are meant to prepare children for the way life will be once let out of the protective bubble created by Mom.

The unique relationships between each parent and their daughter vary on some positions, but in the grand scheme of things, are generally pretty comparable. Because mothers have actually lived through the lives of young girls, they are more likely to connect, but not necessarily parent better than the fathers. Their different styles of punishing, advising, leading and assisting help to create a well-rounded person by using all these aspects of parenting skills. Although there are some differences, the parents collaborate to create one parenting team that cannot be fully effective without both pieces.

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