Role of the Father

• What is the role of play in caregiver-infant interactions?

  Play is an important aspect of caregiver-infant interactions, as it can promote cognitive, social, and emotional development.
• reasoning for limited role of father


  due to them playing traditional roles as the bread earner while mothers stay at home who establish closer bond with child as primary caregiver
• Lamb (1997)


  reported there was little connection between the amount of time spent with the child and attachment; suggesting it may be the interaction itself. 
• Gender stereotypes in some cultures and pockets of society also continue to affect the role of the father as it is seen as feminine to be sensitive to the needs of children and again encourage masculine behaviour.
• Females produce oestrogen which promotes caring behaviour and sensitivity while males do not and this may be one explanation for the role of the father being secondary
• white et al (1992)


  Research suggests the father’s role has also been seen more as a playmate to encourage physical activity, challenging situations and thus encourage problem-solving through placing cognitive demands on the child.
• Varissimo (2011)


  found that the quality of the relationship between father and toddler significantly correlated with the number of friends they had at preschool.

  
  

  The possible link here is the father’s role may encourage social skills and connections through them being a playmate themselves.