Evolving Roles: Unpacking the Complexities of Fatherhood

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When growing up, most children develop a special bond with the mother. In most families, even though there is still a father or father figure around to also care for the baby, he or she still grows up more attached to the mother. Up to this day, the mother has always been the one who makes most decisions regarding her children, in a court of law, jury’s and judges tend to side with the mom in custody battles. So where does this leave the father? Over the years it has been said that fatherhood has quickly evolved in terms of relationships with their children. Compared to primates, fathers in both monogamous and polygamous relationships tend to have limited parental involvement in childcare mainly due to how society shapes certain points of views and opinions.
For many years, and in many cultures the mother has always been viewed as the most important parental figure in a household. The mother is the one who cares, feeds, teaches, and helps her children through life. Also in many cultures the father is basically assigned the job to simply provide for his family. So there we have the traditional family …show more content…

Even though society as a whole and parenting has evolved, statistics still show the absence of a father or male figure in the household as something that is very common in many families and is concerning. According to a TIME online article, “in the U.S., more than half of divorced fathers lose contact with their kids within a few years. By the end of 10 years, as many as two-thirds of them have drifted out of their children's lives.” (Hrdy & Batten, 2007) Another statistic from the same source states the following; “Even fathers in intact families spend a lot less time focused on their kids than they think: in the U.S. fathers average less than an hour a day (up from 20 minutes a few decades ago), usually squeezed in after the workday.” (Hrdy & Batten,

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