Childcare is a complex task traditionally assigned to women, a belief still in full force in many societies. Men in the childcare equation are deemed unfit for the job. Given how traditional gender roles have changed today, these attitudes should also change, despite the grain of truth they bear.
On the one hand, behind every traditional view, there is some truth that must be accepted. Mothers are the best candidates to protect a child. They are biologically the only life form that can breastfeed, and because of how their psyche is configured, they often show a higher level of empathy and emotionality toward their offspring. Men are more task-oriented and mechanical in interacting with the world around them, so they might be less equipped to cope with the emotional side of childrearing.
However, in the age of modernity, gender roles are questioned and modified. The presence of mothers with children at home might be necessary only for a short while after birth. After that, they can resume their roles in societies outside the house, leaving childcare to nannies or stay-at-home fathers. Breastfeeding is also no longer a female-driven task, as milk formula products are now available in supermarkets, streamlining parenting for men. Above all, today, parenting is recognized as a set of skills that both parents can acquire through educational courses and seminars, opening room for men to adopt the position of a caretaker for children, especially at an older age, where children depend on fathers for the formation of their identity.
These discussions suggest that there might be some truth behind the old-fashioned belief about women staying home as caretakers and men being incapable of doing this, and the truth is mainly concerned with the first few months of a child’s life. However, such rigid ways of thinking must be examined in light of rationalism to open space for fathers to share the responsibility of childcare with mothers.
