In Satoshi Kanazawa’s article, “Why Are Mothers Better Parents Than Fathers?” he attempts to explain why men are less dedicated and less committed to parenting than women. His argument is weak based on the inadequate and unreliable information he provides. The result is an article that is humorous at the least, but also lacks the logical support needed to make it a good argumentative article. During the course of this essay, I will address why Kanazawa’s argument is flawed and discuss why no gender is better than the other when it comes to parenting.
Kanazawa begins his introduction with a scene from the 1999 horror movie The Blair Witch Project, when Heather Donahue’s character sensed her and her friends’ death in the woods so she turned the camera on herself and began apologizing to her friends’ mothers, as well as her own mother. From there, Kanazawa raises the question: But why did she apologize to their mothers, and not their fathers? He answers this question by saying, “The answer, from an evolutionary psychological perspective, is that Heather instinctively knew, as do most of us, that children are more important to their mothers than to their fathers, and, as a result, their loss would be more devastating to their mothers than to their fathers” (Kanazawa). It is apparent that Kanazawa’s claim is nothing more than an assumption he tries to broaden to the general population. Following that statement are these statistics: “According to the 1992 March/April Current Population Survey in the United States, conducted by the US Census Bureau on a nationally representative sample, 86% of custodial parents are mothers. The first national survey of the receipt of child support, conducted in 1978, reveals that less than half (49%) of ...
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...at fathers but our society has shifted toward more one parent homes with the mother being the main caretaker. In situations where the mother is the main caretaker doesn’t take away from the father or make his role less significant in any way. Although there are things that mothers do better than fathers and vice versa, there is no such idea as one being better than the other. Both parents are essential for the healthy development of a child.
Works Cited
Armas, Genaro C. "Single-Father Homes On The Rise." ABC News. ABC News Network, n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
Kanazawa, Satoshi. "Why Are Mothers Better Parents Than Fathers? Part I." Psychology Today. The Scientific Fundamentalist, 12 June 2008. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
Kanazawa, Satoshi. "Why Are Mothers Better Parents Than Fathers? Part II." Psychology Today. The Scientific Fundamentalist, 12 June 2008. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
Biblarz and Stacey came into this already thinking that the gender of parents does not matter, but they stay open minded, often contributing sources that contradict their belief. Offering both viewpoints on the issue, they discuss why boys and girls do need a fatherly figure growing up. They state, “fathers foster
Powell, Bill. "Meet The Parents." Newsweek Global 169, no. 7, September 2017, 16-23. MasterFILE Elite, EBSCOhost (accessed December 2, 2017). http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.kennesaw.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&sid=62e2d339-8ec2-493a-adf2-5e2a20b75989%40sessionmgr101
The first objection to Lafollette’s argument is that “…there may not be, or we may not be able to discover, adequate criteria of ‘a good parent’” (Lafollette 1980, 190). This is a strong and sound objection because who can universally define what constitutes a good parent? Many cultures prefer to raise their children in different ways that others might think is unacceptable. For example, some cultures believe that spanking their children is an effective form of punishment, while others condemn it as child abuse. Therefore, it seems impossible to distinguish between a “good and less than good parent” (Lafollette 1980, 190). In addition, if we did come up with a criteria, it would be too generalized (in order to include different cultures) and therefore, wouldn’t be ab...
To begin, being a father allows an individual to have an impact on their offspring. Sometimes, however, their decisions negatively impact their children. Literary expert Mitch Albom suggests...
The argument that parenthood is natural, instinctual, and predates civilized society (and can continue to exist outside of civilized society) seems odd in light of the plethora of books, websites, groups, and so on devoted to helping parents learn to be good parents. All our self-help materials dedicated to this topic seem to suggest that parenting is not purely instinctual, but that education is also required. (Campo-Engelstein)
Beyond genetics, parents have an extremely significant impact on the emotional, moral, and social development of their children. This is understandable, as many children interact solely with their parents until they reach school-age. Parents have the ability to determine a child’s temperament, their social abilities, how well-behaved or in control of their emotions they are, how mature and ambitious the child will be, and so forth. (Sharpe) Furthermore, parents have both ideals for their children as well as ideals for themselves, and how they raise their children is deeply influenced by this.
Davies, Kevin. "Nature vs. Nurture Revisited." PBS. 17 Apr. 2001. PBS. 28 Mar. 2012 .
Pinker continued this argument with a supported quote from a distressed mother. She was hesitant on how to implement proper fundamentals for her children as they age into adults. He referenced this mother’s opinion by answer her pressing question. He concluded that most studies on parenting are useless and do not control for heritability (Pinker, 19:15). Steven supported his claim by referring to the Mallifert twins.
Would you have come out different if your parents used a different parenting style? If you are considered “cool” now could you have come out a nerd if your parents would have used a different parenting style? “Parenting style is one of the primary determinants of your child’s outcome whether he succeeds, achieves, meets the challenges, flounders, gives up, or runs from or fails in handling life.” (6) The purpose of this paper is to describe the outcomes, processes, labor, and techniques of parenting in a psychological point of view. Parenting styles are defined as the “manner in which parents express their beliefs on how to be a good or bad parent.” (4) Each parenting style has its weaknesses and strengths. All parents incorporate love and limit in their style of parenting. There are four different types of parenting styles: authoritarian, permissive, democratic, and uninvolved parents.
Moore, David Scott. The Dependent Gene: The Fallacy of Nature/nurture. New York: Times, 2002. Print.
The role of a father is more than just another parent at home (Popenoe, 1996). Having a father, the male biological parent in a child’s life is important because it brings a different type of parenting that cannot be replicated by anyone else (Stanton, 2010). Fathers who are present and active in a child’s life provide great benefits to a developing child (Popenoe, 1996). Having a father brings a different kind of love. The love of the father is more expectant and instrumental, different from the love of a mother (Stanton, as cited in Pruett, 1987).
middle of paper ... ... In the traditional society, the father’s only focus is on earning an income for the family which has a direct impact on the family members due to the lack of time spent bonding with his children and wife. The responsibility of the children falls on both parents’ shoulders, not just on the mothers. However, this is also an issue in modern society, if mothers rely too much on day-care and do not spend enough time with their children, then the same thing that happens to the father happens to the mother.
A mother does not think a father role is important to as a they say because a mother could do everything as male as care for the child could be there as a father figure as a single parent. A mother would not think that a father is a major part in the child lives because she have to do as much as a father. It prove that a mother is a big part of taking care of the child because she
Mothers are the primary caretakers of the children. The fathers have had minimal care taking responsibilities. Many women, if they had a career before hand, have to give it up to stay at home with the child. Although, many fathers where the wives must work become important in the process of care taking because their role must increase to their children. Studies of human fathers and their infants confirm that many fathers can act sensitively with their infant (according to Parke & Sawin, 1980) and their infants form attachments to both their mothers and fathers at roughly the same age (according to Lamb, 1977).
Mothers and fathers work as a great team together and their differences give the child something that the others do not. Mothers offer security and are more nurturing. Fathers Offer more hands-on play and teach their kids to be more independent. Mothers are more repetitive to their kids to teach them new things. Dads show their kids things so that they learn. Mothers pamper their sons, making them feel loved and special. Dads are strict with their daughters to keep them safe. The differences between mothers and fathers create a good balance for raising their child.