Men can be maternal too! Neuroscientist reveals that fathers can care for children just as well as mothers

Home »Men can be maternal too! Neuroscientist reveals that fathers can care for children just as well as mothers

Men can be maternal too! Neuroscientist reveals that fathers can care for children just as well as mothers

Posted by sciencetech-blog on Tuesday, July 29, 2014 Label:

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It's often said that mothers share a special maternal bond with their child that is unmatched by others, including the father, despite his paternal role.

But a study says that men can actually have just as strong a bond with their child, especially in the absence of the mother.

And it could force a re-think on the role dads can play in the development of children.

A study by a researcher at Oregon State University says that men can take on the role of being a mother (stock image shown). Dr Saturn says that when a mother is absent, perhaps through divorce, the father assumes the role. This is in addition to playing the role of father as well - they can do both

The research titled 'Flexibility of the father's brain' was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

'Shifts in society and culture have led to increases in men's involvement in the care of infants,' writes researcher Dr Sarina Saturn of Oregon State University.

CHILDREN CAN SPOT WHEN YOU'RE LYING AND HOLDING BACK DETAILS

Many adults will admit to telling white lies to children to make their lives a little easier.

But research has found children can spot this tactic, and can even tell when their parents or teachers are deliberately withholding information from them.

Once spotted, a study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found children will then try to fill in the gaps in the information themselves.

Determining who to trust is an important skill to learn at an early age because so much of our knowledge about the world comes from other people, explained Hyowon Gweon, lead author of the paper which was published in the journal Cognition.

'When someone provides us information, we not only learn about what is being taught, we also learn something about that person,' she said.

'If the information is accurate and complete, then you might also trust that person in the future.'

'The modern-day family comes in a variety of structures, and more and more people are playing unconventional roles in childrearing.'

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In the study, reports New Statesman, the brains of parents were scanned while they watched videos of their interactions with children.

Two systems of the brain were stimulated during this activity: the emotional network and mental processing.

Fathers who said they were secondary to the mother in providing care for the child were found to have less of an emotional response than their partner.

But those who were raising a child by themselves were found to have a similar emotional response to mothers while retaining the critical thinking of secondary fathers.

This meant they were performing both roles of mother and father.

The finding could be important for cases of divorce, where battles over custody are often ruled in the mother's favour.

And the study could bring into question the role men can play in a child's upbringing.

When a mother is present the father's brain is less active emotionally, but they retain a level of critical thinking that makes them paternal. In the absence of a mother dads take on the role of both parents. The research could be important for the role dads can play in kids' upbringing (stock image shown)