The famous American humorist and author, David Barry, once said, “If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant’s life, she will choose to save the infant’s life without even considering if there are men on base.” This directly points to the maternal instincts a woman has. Women make better parents as they have the congenital maternal instincts that make them give the best care to their children. A lot of debate is going on to decide the role of mothers and fathers in a child’s life. In the present world of role changing of parents, some argue that both the mother and the father have equal roles in the upbringing of a child. But it is the mothers who have a superior role over the fathers in raising their children in most societies. When it comes to parenting, most women practice the same role as their mothers did in raising them. However, men do not really copy their father’s practices in raising their children. This is because mothers have more influence on their children because they are fed and cared for by the mother right from the time they are babies.
Once a woman becomes a mother, her child becomes the most important priority of her life. Many women give up their jobs and career temporarily or permanently at the onset of childbirth and remain home to tend to the needs of the child. Mothers understand the needs of a child the best and after childbirth through the period of nursing the mothers remain home with their child until the child is old enough to be left with someone else. All other priorities in a woman’s life are set apart for her child. From my life, when my ex-husband pulled a gun at my son, the first thing I did was to leave with my children. No woman can stand anyone harming her child. An opposing statement to this would be that, in recent years, in families where the woman is the more employable person in the family, the men become stay–at–home parents and takes good care of their children. But even in such families the mothers play a big role in the children’s life. Women take care of their children in the initial months of childbirth and start working only if the financial position is so bad that she is forced to work. Also the primary need for her to work is to attain financial stability in the family so that her children can grow in a sound and secure environment.
Women are more patient with children. They patiently tend to all the needs of the child. When a child is born the responsibilities of a woman doubles. She must learn to do a lot of new tasks like feeding the child, changing the diapers etc along with her normal daily routines. They have sleepless nights tending to their children. The patience of a woman is clearly revealed in these activities. Even when the child grows up, it is the mother who is always with them to hear their need. It is the mother who helps the children with studies and homework. When the child comes to face an emotional or social problem, it is the mother he or she prefers over others to find a solution. Women are basically raised up to be good mothers. As girls it is they who see and learn raising children from their mothers while the boys are more into outdoor activities. This upbringing as girls makes women more ready for being a mother. It is a proven fact that women manage the family much better than men. The opposing theory is that women are more prone to mood swings and depression and are more stressed while raising a child. This is an understatement. Being a mother is the most pleasurable experience in a woman’s life. Women never become depressed with parenting. Only external factors like a demanding career, flaws in relationship with the life partner, lack of support from other family members, financial difficulties or health issues can cause depression and stress in them.
A woman seldom abandons her children even if the father moves out. After my first daughter was born, her father decided that we were not old enough to become parents. I was left alone with my daughter. As a young mother, I have never felt like abandoning my children even when I had to raise three children, two of them girls, all my own. My children trust in me and so far I have been able to raise them as the perfect children. The relationship between a mother and her child starts right from the time of pregnancy. The mother thus becomes more attached to the child than the father. The growing number of single mothers in the world is the most reasonable evidence for this. In most divorce cases, the custody of the children is left to the mothers and fathers are given only partial custody of the child. The fathers are ordered to provide financial support to the children and the mother. But in many cases the fathers don’t even provide for their children. Nevertheless, the mothers raise their children. The opposition to this is that there are mothers who abandon their children and are brought up by their fathers. There are cases of women who abandon their children, but only under extreme circumstances like substances abuse, other illicit activities or if the child is illegitimate. In such cases the child is better off with the father than the mother. Under such conditions the father takes up the parenting role or the child becomes an orphan.
Women make better parents and they have greater role in bringing up the children in most societies. The relationship between a mother and a child starts from the womb of the mother. As the American anthropologist remarks “fathers are a biological necessity, but a social accident.” The father’s role in most families is restricted to decision-making and providing material and moral support to the family. Women are born with an innate maternity instinct. Parenthood gives her more responsibilities. Mothers deal with their children more patiently. Women observe and learn more from their mothers on parenting and cultivate the values of life in their children. A mother seldom abandons her child. Although fathers play an important role in the complete upbringing of a child, mothers are superior parents to fathers.