Quote:
Originally Posted by flylock shox
Men, generally speaking, aren't as well trained or inherently effective at looking after kids, meaning that even if careers pose an equal strain women tend to be in the leadership role in connection with child rearing and related domestic activities. And I'd say that's generally true even if the husband is highly engaged with looking after the kids.
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Other than breastfeeding, there aren’t any child-rearing tasks that a man can’t carry out as well as a woman. We have twins (and we bottle-fed), so I was just as engaged with our kids as my wife from day one. Feeding, swaddling, soothing, changing diapers, bathing them, getting them dressed - everything. A 1:1 ratio of infant to adult doesn’t leave you much choice. She had one and I had one, and each of them cried for their assigned parent when they needed reassurance.
IMHO, the gender difference in child-reading isn’t aptitude, it’s interest. I could always put the kids out of mind when I took breaks. My wife couldn’t.
That has continued through childhood and teens. When my wife and her friends get together socially, the main thing they talk about is their kids. What activities they’re in, how they’re doing in school, what jobs they’re getting, etc. So when I get home from hanging out with a buddy, my wife will ask how his daughter enjoyed camp, or if she got the job she applied for. I always answer I have no idea, our families never came up in conversation. Which exasperates her.