Have you ever wondered why we are the way that we are? Why do women tend to be more gentle and caring? Have you noticed that boys seem to be more aggressive and competitive? I want to focus on the difference between the two genders, male and female, and their corresponding roles in the family.
There are several memes and videos on social media that depict a male finding anything that resembles a gun, a stick, a chunk of metal, and then they proceed to shout "bang" as they shoot the new-found gun. Turns out, this goes a little deeper than just a little social media humor. There are have been various experiments done to help explain the difference between boys and girls. In one such study many types of toys were laid out. Little boys and girls were released to play with the toys. What do you think happened? For the most part the boys went to toys such as cars, a blue teddy bear and a ball. The girls played with pink teddy bears and a cooking pan. These were children from the ages nine months to 32 months! They didn't have much time to be influenced by the ways of the world, they just naturally went to those preferred toys. This goes to show that boys and girls really are different! What is impactful about these differences, especially when male and female come together to raise a family?
Other studies have shown that girls tend to be more cooperative, gentle and connect well. Boys are competitive, aggressive, and compartmentalize relatively well. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I believe God has blessed each gender with these differences so that they may better fulfill their roles as mother and father. In the "Family; a Proclamation to the World" (a document released by church leaders from God) reaffirms the role of a mother is to nurture, and a father is to protect, preside and provide. Perhaps you might already be seeing how the differing traits can help each gender fulfill their role.
Mothers are the primary nurturers, especially in the first part of a newborn's life. The infant constantly needs the mother. Women are great at forming relationships and perhaps one of the most important relationships to build is between mother and child. A child needs to be treated gently, they need to feel connected. Their mother, with these traits, provides these necessities, almost throughout her entire life. A woman also tends to be aware of multiple things at once, which can be very useful when raising multiple kids that require almost constant attention!
A father, while he too can be gentle, needs to provide, protect and preside over the family. There are many dangers in the world. If a father is not aggressive enough during appropriate times, he may not be able to adequately protect his family. Males are shown to be more competitive, which may lead them to compete for higher paying jobs, bettering their ability to provide for their family. A father is also able to compartmentalize well, hopefully meaning that they can leave the stress of work at work and focus on his family when he is with them, helping him preside more effectively.
These are just a few general examples of how differing gender traits can help parents fulfill their responsibilities better, but we know not every male is aggressive, nor is every female cooperative. Individuals, no matter what gender, are unique. We do all have unique traits that can either be strengths or weaknesses. It is important that when we join together in marriage, that we do our best to compliment our strengths and weaknesses. God has outlined roles for mothers and fathers, and it is in our best interest to fulfill those roles to the best of our abilities. We will not be perfect at it and there will be times when the mother will have to step into the father's role and vice versa. What matters is striving to follow God and raising our family using the gifts and traits God has blessed each of us with.
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