Parentalanxiety of the “roles” of mother and father is reduced and parenting decisions made easier
Primary and secondary caregivers
Some researchers look at the father as a secondary figure, others do as a primary
This means some see the father acting differently than the mother and a distinct role whereas others state the father can take on a maternal role
Therefore there is no agreement on the role of the father and psychologists canot easily answer the question of what the role of the father is
importance of knowing the fathers role
Grossman et al. Suggests fathers have a distinct role in children’s development (play and stimulation) however McCallum and Golombok found children without a father dont develop any differently Meaning the question of if the fathers role is important remains unanswered
However, because it has been found that same sex families or single parent families the children don’t develop any differently it could suggests that fathers to have a distinct role but families can learn to adapt without them