Opposite Sides of the Parenting Coin?

Question

In parenting, often men's and women's way of raising a child differs in approach, sometimes greatly.

Commonly, men seem little distant. Women seem too close.

There may be a balance here that I think a lot of today's families forget.

What do you parents think about the roles that both men and women play in the household?

Answer 1

Actually, I tend to be a little more "distant." I love my daughter and give her hugs and that sort. But I'm also more solid about discipline. On the other side, my husband is a bit on the soft side. He works two jobs so he doesn't get to see her as much but my daughter is daddy's little girl. We're okay with this arrangement - we balance each other out.

As long as a couple is willing to find a comfortable solution, that's all that matters. There is no "cookie cutter" of family design.

Answer 2

We have a 13 year old son and 6 year old daughter. We definitely have vastly different parenting styles. The minute I get home from work my daughter immediately meets me in the driveway and thru the entire evening she is pretty much on my lap. This can be exhausting at times. She only wants to read to me and show me her school work first. I am admittedly the softie parent. I tend not to sweat the small things near as much as Dad does. I see how quickly my son has grown up and it seems like just yesterday he was my little shadow. Because Dad does lose patience quicker the kids tend to share more everyday little things with me. I can be talking to my son about the school play , upcoming project or game and later my H will say our son never even mentioned it to him. Dad says" How was school " He recieves the typical teenage answer of either "fine" or "boring." I have learned to be a little more laid back and get more info from him.
On the negative side, because of my laid back ways, the kids to listen more when dad asks them to do things. With me they know they can take their sweet time and maybe not even do it at all.
The odd things that I am compulsive about our sons G.P.A. Everyday I am checking the school website for grade changes. Dad thinks that a B is no big deal and I would find it unacceptable.
We both attend teacher conferences, fun nights etc. Our son prefers Dad take him and his buddies places instead of me. This works for us because that gives me time alone to spend with our daughter.
We both cook and clean on our days off. Since I work only 4 days a week I have more time to do things around the house. The days I do work get off later than my H so he does the cooking. On my off days I do.

Answer 3

Wow what a loaded question! Our family is traditional. I stay at home and my husband works, and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this was the right thing to do. But we chose to do this. There are a great many families which, for whatever reason, simply cannot choose their roles, and therein lies the potential for serious conflict.

Answer 4

well.. our son is almost 19months old... this is how we do it.
mother(me): i stay at home full time with our son, i also study full time and work from home, we go to playcentre twice a week and playgroups and coffee groups and music/dancing classes.. we go to the park and we do the housework and cooking during the week..
father: he goes to work on weekdays, he gets up earlier than our son so that he can be showered and dressed in time to give our son breakfast and have a little play with him (which gives me time to have a shower and get dressed), when he comes home from work we all have dinner together and we clean up together and do our son's bedtime routine of little play, bath, bottle, teeth and storytime together..
on the weekends we have family time, we go to the park together or we go visiting together or we just do something fun all together.. friday and saturday nights hubby picks one of those nights a week to go out with his mates
our son: he is absolutely wonderful, he is happy, healthy and very advanced for his age.. he loves sitting and reading books just as much as he loves jumping off the couch onto a bean bag and running around outside getting messy.. so we must be doing something right!

Answer 5

Men and women are different, and that is as it should be. Their differences are meant to compliment one another, and the result of the two together is an appropriate balance.

Answer 6

no, now a days both are working and i feel the child requires the same amount of love from both.. infact my kid is more close to her dad