Assessing the Roles of Fathers and Mothers in the Family

Say your Mom is drowning and at the same time your dad is about to fall off a cliff. What will guide your choice of who to rescue?

One might pick the Mom over the Dad and vice versa but that only depends on the circumstances and peculiarities surrounding each case scenario.

You’ll agree with me that parents are an indispensable part of any individuals life and contribute imersely to an individual’s overall personality, perception and to a large extent decisions in life.

However,there are people who grew up having just one parent in their life example, a single Mom or Dad was all they ever got to know and live with.

Where as, another percentage (most time referred to as orphans) had only guardians and others just themselves to look out for them. This is sad but a reality.

Nonetheless, our focus is on parents, the roles they play, who is most preferred, more important and the reason(s) for this/this preference.

Who are Parents

The term parent, in this article, encompasses other sub terms i.e, mother and father. A parent is one who cares for, protects and nourishes a child.

The health, safety and total  well-being of the child is the responsibility of the former.

The society in fact expects parents to raise their children to become better adults and good citizens instigating positive changes in their present environment which hopefully would extend beyond their present dispensation for the purpose of making the world a better place.

Roles of Fathers and Mothers in the family

1.They provide food, shelter and clothing: This is true for both fathers and mothers.

In an African setting, it is typical for one to assert that it is the duty of the father to provide money for food and clothing whereas the mother is expected to prepare the meal or buy the clothes.

The man again is seen as the figure that is saddled with the duty of providing a roof over the heads of his family.

But this is not true in other parts of the world and even in Africa there are exceptions to this notion.

2. Education and vocational training: One may safely postulate that education is the most common (and in most instances) the only legacy that parents bequeath their children.

Parents (even those not educated) strive to ensure that their children get a very good education and for whatever it’s worth they strive to ensure that in the absence of the former, the child should at least learn a trade or skill.

The goal generally is to secure a good and indeed bright future , a level of independence at the long run for the child with a mindset that when they’re frail and old that such child can take proper care of them (i.e, reciprocate their kindness).

3. Guidance and counseling: Parents are the first contact a child makes with the society and world at large. The society automatically expects that the parents should teach the children behaviors that are acceptable in the society and by extention how to relate properly with everyone; elders, age mates, younger ones, same and opposite sex alike and parents in turn are fully aware and carryout this duty to the best of their ability.

Parents also help their children make certain important decisions in life, example they help the child discover their interest/passion and improve it, they guide them in making career choices e.t.c.

4. They provide love and security: Parents nurture their children with love and ensure their safety both within and outside their home for example they try to know and provide what their children like, where they are, whom they’re with, what they’re doing, whether or not it is safe for them and so on.

Why people prefer their mothers to fathers

Local research shows that 8% of every 10% of children would easily pick their mom over their Dad, the reason for this is quite simple, mothers have a way of living in the moment with their kids hence becoming a part of their day-to-day activities and lives in general.

This is in apposition to fathers who are so engrossed in their daily struggles and desire to make ends meet as the expense of a beautiful relationship with their children.

The children in response to this perpetual absence cultivate and indeed become acquainted with an insane level of distance from their fathers all be it unintentionally (by default).

However, it is pertinent to state that the opposite might infact be the position in scenerios covered by the remaining 2%.

Suffice to say that, this is not an attempt to render the roles or importance of fathers inexistent or negligible.

Mother or Father, Who is more important in the family?

Fathers and Mothers are equally important in the family. There’s no gain saying that the role of former preceeds or overrides the latter.

Nonetheless, both of them are of essence in every individual’s life and the absence of one whether or not expressly stated by the child in question actually has an effect on the child on the long run, perhaps not financially but emotionally.

The child always feels that there’s something missing and of course such child is right.

Again, in the case of orphans this assertion is more clearly potrayed as they’re often conscious of the absence of their parents and this absence to a large extent has a negative effect on their overall life ,behavior and sadly defines/ limits in most cases their level of success and achievement in life.

Conclusion

Parents generally are equally important in every individual’s life though they might contribute in different ways to the well being and development of a child.

Individual contribution is nonetheless desirable and essential and should not be neglected.

Ask single parents who double both functions and they would confess to you that a little (or maybe tiny) but of them actually crave help from their partners in raising their kids.

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