IN Mt. Lebanon Spring 2016 | Page 75

INDUSTRY INSIGHT PARENTING SPONSORED CONTENT Mom and Dad are Different: The Role of Fathers M others and fathers care for their children in very unique ways. Children can recognize the differences between their mother’s and father’s care, which actually enhances their development. This article focuses on the critical role fathers play in a child’s development. Newborns can differentiate between Mom’s voice and touch and Dad’s voice and touch. Although moms may get a head start on the bonding process with the baby, dads have their chance, too. By six weeks old an infant can distinguish a father’s voice from a mother’s, and while a quiet baby may pay more attention to Mom’s voice, an upset baby will calm more readily to his/her father’s handling. Mothers usually are very consistent in the way they handle their children, often picking them up in the same manner, saying the same thing before they handle them, for example, at bath or bedtime. A dad rarely approaches the baby with such consistency. Each time he picks up the Available Lot Deposit OPEN SPACE .6 Acre to 2 Acre Lots SOLD 146 1.33 AC • Homes Designed to Your Specification by Our In-House Architect • In the Heart of Upper St Clair a Nationally Recognized School District • Easy Acces