Here's why dads are more attentive to baby girls, according to science.
Research by Emory University looked at how fathers interact with their children and found that they were more attentive to their daughters than to their sons.
The researchers discovered that dads sang more to their daughters and used more emotive and feeling words with them while, with their sons, they opted for more achievement-related language like ‘win’ and ‘proud.’
Even more significant, when the toddlers cried or asked for daddy, fathers were more likely to respond to daughters than sons.
Here's why dads are more attentive to baby girls
There's no doubt that the gender of our children, whether consciously or not, can impact how we talk to, play with, and even spend money on our kids.
Science says people start being more careful and taking fewer risks once their baby arrives. But how much more careful they become depends on the sex of their baby.
The Society for Risk Analysis found that parents of boys are about twice as likely to take a risk as parents of girls.
A common denominator researchers found between the many studies was that boys are often overlooked when it comes to talking about emotions.
And this has huge consequences, with some scientists even claiming it can lead to depression in adult men.
Moms also parent genders differently
And it's not just dads - moms also parent boys and girls differently, and a study by the University of Surrey found that moms talk more openly about feelings with their daughters than with their sons.
In 2014, Ohio State University researchers discovered that women who waited to find out the baby’s sex until birth had more egalitarian views of gender roles; they tended to believe that women and men should care for their children equally and in the same ways.
These women were also more conscientious and open to new experiences than their counterparts.
But according to another study, moms transfer their sexist attitudes to their children more strongly than fathers.
Researchers interviewed mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters about their views on gender roles and found that children were more likely to display sexist, discriminatory behaviour when their mom had more sexist attitudes.
