Dads go easy at play with girls

FATHERS tend to be more sensitive and less physically playful with baby girls than baby boys, a study has found.

Australian researchers looked at the way fathers behaved towards 81 very premature babies and 39 fullterm babies. They found that while prematurity did not make any difference, gender did.

Fathers were less sensitive, more controlling and more hostile to sons than daughters.

Senior author Karli Treyvaud, from La Trobe University, said it was a small sample and more research was needed to see how the results applied to the rest of the population.

Researchers suggest the difference may be explained in part by different play styles between fathers and daughters and fathers and sons.

“Specifically, fathers of boys have previously been found to be more likely to display higher levels of physical play than fathers of girls, whereas fathers of girls are more likely to be involved in their child’s imaginative play,” said lead author Grace McMahon, from Monash University and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.

The study, published in the Journal of Paediatrics, found fathering styles in the early years affected the development of babies. Greater paternal sensitivity at 12 months was predictive of better language development of the child at two years.

More structured fathering involving firm but fair rules was predictive of higher cognitive development at two years. A more controlling fathering style was associated with more physical aggression, rule breaking problems.

“Overall, our findings provide further support that fathers’ parenting is important for child development, in both very pre-term and full-term children,” Ms McMahon said.

“Paternal parenting that adequately guides and structures the child’s play is particularly beneficial for cognitive and language development.

“Based on these findings, interventions to promote developmental outcomes might consider incorporating support for fathers to promptly and appropriately respond to their child’s cues, and adequately guide and facilitate their child’s play,” she said.

Study participants were part of the broader Victorian Infant Brain Study run by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. and behavioural