Mother as primary care-giver

• A primary care-giver of an infant is the person who is most responsible for an infants health, development and well-being.
• Freud's views- the mother should be the primary care-giver. Freud believe that mother-child relationship was the most important in the oral stage of psychosexual development. A mothers life acts as a prototype for every future relationship.
• Freud's views- historical context should be considered. Freud wrote his assumption in the early 1900s where women solely lived in the home, his ideas may reflect the norms and values of society. Freud does mention the role a father plays in a childs healthy psychological development.
• Differences in biological/social suitability- due to biological and social facts mothers are the best care-givers. Oestrogen underlines caring behaviour and the release of oxytocin after giving birth. Heerman et al (1994) found that men are less sensitive to infant cues.
• Differences in biological/social suitability- fathers aren't less biologically less able to care for children. Frodi et al (1978) showed people videos of babies crying and found no difference in the biological response of men and women. Both genders are equally biologically sensitive to a childs needs.
• Cultural diversity- in the Aka tribe (Africa) men take an important care-giving role, being with infants 47% of the time taking on many of the responsibilities of the mother.
• Conclusion- a healthy development relies on multiple important relationships, secondary attachments provide a vital emotional safety net. Women are often the main emotional figure (Geiger 1996 found fathers are better at providing challenging situations)