Daddy’s girl! They ARE doted on more than boys
IT is a truth long suspected by every daddy’s girl who can wrap their doting father round their little finger.
But now scientists have found that fathers really do pay more attention to their daughters than sons, starting from early childhood.
Dads respond more to girls who cry out or call for them than they do to boys, while their brain lights up more when they see their little girl smile, a US study has shown.
The special place that daughters hold in their fathers’ hearts also sees dads sing and whistle more to them as toddlers.
But girls miss out on the fun rough and tumble play, which fathers and sons spend more than three times as long doing.
The research, published in the journal Behavioural Neuroscience, is the latest to show that parents treat their children differently depending on their sex. It is based on recordings of 52 fathers aged 21 to 55, over two days spent with their toddlers.
Lead author Dr Jennifer Mascaro, from Emory University in Georgia, said: ‘The fact that fathers may actually be less attentive to the emotional needs of boys, perhaps despite their best intentions, is important to recognise.
‘Validating emotions is good for everyone – not just daughters.’
Fathers responded to girls demanding attention 16.1 per cent of the time, the study found, compared to just 10.8 per cent of the time for boys.
And an MRI brain scan as they viewed happy photographs of their children showed fathers of daughters displayed more activity in the areas of the brain which process emotions and rewards. Daddies’ girls were also spoken to in a more emotional way than boys, with men using words such as ‘cry’, ‘tears’ and ‘lonely’.
This may give girls an advantage in developing empathy. However, they miss out on rough and tumble play, including tickling and tumbling, with their fathers. This important activity, shown to help children regulate their emotions and make them more popular with their peers, was a much more significant part of father-son relationships.
Co-author Dr James Rilling said: ‘It’s important to note that gender-biased paternal behaviour need not imply ill intentions on the part of fathers. These biases may be unconscious, or may actually reflect deliberate and altruistically motivated efforts to shape children’s behaviour in line with social expectations of adult gender roles.’
But the authors say the jury is still out on whether fathers behave differently with girls than boys because this is genetically predetermined, or if they are just conforming to social norms.
Dads might be responding to cues from their children, with evidence showing boys are exposed to higher levels of male hormones in the womb, so are more likely to engage in rough and tumble play.
Dr Mascaro added: ‘Most parents really are trying to do the best they can for their children. A take-home point is that it’s good to pay attention to how your interactions with your sons and daughters may be biased.’
‘Less attentive to boys’