Table of contents:
- The role of the father for the child
- Teach children to take risks
- Stimulate physical activity
- A role model for success / achievement
- The role of mother for children
- As a protector
- Stimulating mentally and emotionally
- Teaches discipline
Parents have the same responsibility in caring for children, but have a different role for children. Fathers and mothers have their own ways of caring for children, this provides a varied experience for each parent's child. Research shows that fathers and mothers tend to have different contacts with their babies after the first few weeks of life. The mother's role involves more gentle verbal interactions, while the father's role tends to involve physical interactions.
Parent-to-child differing approaches appear to have a beneficial effect on the child. Parents have unique and different ways of interacting with their children. This provides variety in the experience of parent-child interaction and also fosters the understanding that each parent is a separate and distinct individual.
The role of the father for the child
Although the father may spend less time with the child than the time between the child and the mother, the role of the father is very important for the child. Here are some of the roles of fathers in parenting:
Teach children to take risks
Fathers tend to encourage their children to take risks. This is usually done with older children when the child needs to learn to be independent. The father will praise the child when the father believes the child was successful at something. Meanwhile, mothers will often praise their children with the aim of entertaining or helping children to be more enthusiastic about doing something. The result is that children will work harder to earn their father's praise. A father wants to see his child succeed, even more successful than him, thus encouraging children to work harder and take risks.
Stimulate physical activity
In contrast to the interaction between mother and child, father-son interaction is more often done by joking and playing physically. Overall, the interactions between the child and the father are poorly coordinated. The physical interactions between the child and the father can show the child how to handle emotions, such as surprise, fear, and joy.
A role model for success / achievement
Research shows that when a father is affectionate, supportive, and involved in his child's activities, he can make a major contribution to the child's cognitive, language and social development, as well as contribute to his child's academic achievement, self-confidence, and identity. Children who are close to their fathers tend to do well in school and have fewer behavioral problems.
Especially for boys, they will make the father as a role model for him. They will seek their father's approval for everything they do and as much as possible do the same success as their father, even if possible more than his father.
The role of mother for children
Mother is the first teacher for her children. Mothers teach valuable lessons for their children from birth to children growing up. Here are some of the roles of mothers in childcare:
As a protector
The mother is the protector of her children. Since birth, the child has felt the mother's presence, the mother's touch, and the mother's voice, all of which make the child feel safe. When a child cries, usually what the child is looking for is the mother, this is the first reaction of anything that bothers him because the mother is a place for the child to feel safe and comfortable. Children feel protected around their mother. The mother protects the child from environmental hazards, from strangers, and from themselves.
When the child starts to grow up, the mother remains his protector, more than an emotional one. Mothers always listen to their children's complaints and are always there to provide comfort when their children need them. Mothers always want their children to feel safe. If the child can trust the mother, the child will be confident and have emotional security. If the child cannot find safety, it can usually cause the child to have a lot of emotional and psychological problems.
Stimulating mentally and emotionally
The mother always interacts with her child, through play or conversation, which stimulates the child's cognitive abilities. Even physical play with the mother follows the rules the child needs to mentally coordinate their actions. The mother makes the child mentally strong to face the outside world when she first leaves home for school.
As a mother and primary caregiver in the early life of a child, the mother is the first person to make emotional bonds and attachments with the child. Children will learn their first emotions from the mother. The relationship between mother and child that is formed during the early years will greatly influence the way the child behaves in social and emotional settings in the following years. A mother can easily hug a child and talk about feelings with her child so that the mother is more able to teach the child how to handle emotions better.
A mother is a person who understands the needs and moods of her child. The mother knows what her child wants even when the child hasn't spoken to her. As a mother, how quickly the mother reacts to the child's needs and how the mother tries to take care of the child's needs will teach the child a lot about understanding other people's and emotional needs.
Teaches discipline
A mother has to strike a balance between giving strict rules and pampering her child. Mothers must instill a sense of responsibility in children. The mother is the person who makes the child learn the first lessons of his life. The mother is the person who makes her child understand what she is saying, then the child learns to follow the mother's orders slowly. The mother teaches the child to eat, bathe, and teaches him how to express his needs. The mother also teaches how to manage and commit to time, by teaching children to do routines in everyday life.