Why daughters really are ‘daddy’s girls’

 Daughters gain more attention from their fathers than sons do, a study has suggested.

Researchers who asked 52 men to wear a monitor over a 48-hour period found fathers of girls sang more to their children and showed greater emotion. In contrast, fathers of sons engaged in rough-and-tumble and used achievement-related language, such as “proud”, “win” and “top”.

“If the child cries out or asks for dad, fathers of daughters responded to that more than did fathers of sons,” said Dr Jennifer Mascaro, who led the US study in Atlanta, Georgia.