Most parents have no say in whether they have a boy or a girl, and yet many of them root for one or the other anyway at an ultrasound appointment or when the baby is born.
At least since 1941, men have told pollsters by more than a two-to-one margin that they would rather have a boy. Women have only a slight preference for daughters. Taking all of this evidence together, the authors conclude that parents in the United States do have a preference for boys over girls.
This is probably because feelings are more acceptable in girls. Society expects girls to show emotions more readily than boys. This means that dads start engaging their daughters at an emotional level while they are still toddlers. Dads with girls respond more when their daughters cry out to them than those with sons.
If you thought "daddy's little girl" was a just cliché, think again. According to a study published today in Behavioral Neuroscience, dads are more attentive and responsive to toddler daughters' needs than fathers with sons of the same age.
Daughters naturally crave connection with their fathers, and they especially cherish emotional and physical affection from their fathers. In fact, according to Meg Meeker's research, when girls and dads have a stronger connection, daughters do better in life on a number of different levels.
Our results suggest that early stronger daughter–mother attachment is one of these roots. In fact, as the attachment bond generally promotes proximity and interactions between individuals, the stronger daughter–mother attachment would promote proximity between them.
"A father is a son's first hero and a daughter's first love." "The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life." "Fathering is not something perfect men do, but something that perfects the man."
Even if you don't fully recognize it, research indicates that there's a good chance that you actually do have a favorite. In fact, one study published in the Journal of Family Psychology found 74% of moms and 70% of dads reported preferential treatment toward one child.
Whilst parents may not intend to treat sons and daughters differently, research shows that they do. Sons appear to get preferential treatment in that they receive more helpful praise, more time is invested in them, and their abilities are often thought of in higher regard.
Dads may not realize it, but they don't treat their sons and daughters the same way, according to a new study. Turns out, fathers are more attentive and responsive to their young daughters' cries compared to their sons and sing more to their little girls while roughhousing with their boys.
All mammals are genetically closer to their fathers.
All mammals are genetically closer to their fathers than their mothers, according to research by scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
In research conducted with mothers and their adolescent children, the researchers found that mother-daughter pairs had more harmonious relationships, including fewer conflicts, than did mother-son pairs.
It appears that natural selection does help individual genes to spread, by subtly biasing the offspring sex ratio so that beautiful people, who can benefit from having a daughter, do indeed have slightly more daughters than ugly people, who cannot so benefit.
Women are more likely to invest time and energy in daughters than sons, according to a new study that also shows men have a slight preference for male offspring. Statistically speaking, daughters win the day, but sons win dad by a nose.
It is often assumed that parents have no preference because they tell everyone they just want a healthy child, no matter the gender, but that simply is not true. Men want male children as a legacy play. They can carry on their legacy if their sons father children – hopefully at least one male child - and so on.
Younger adults, and those with less education, are more inclined toward boys, but the main distinction is between men and women. Women are split — 31 percent want a girl, 30 percent a boy — but 43 percent of men prefer a son, to 24 percent who prefer a daughter.
Most parents have a favourite child, and it's probably the eldest, according to researchers. A study conducted at the University of California shows that out of 768 parents surveyed, 70 per cent of mothers and 74 per cent of fathers admitted to having a favourite child.
According to the survey, over half of parents who admitted to having a favorite child picked their youngest. You will often hear parents say that they love all their children equally but a new study suggests that's a bunch of baloney. In fact, many parents secretly favor their youngest kid over the rest.
A recent study suggests that mothers tend to prefer daughters and fathers prefer sons. Designed to test the impact of parental resources on offspring sex preferences, the research showed that women prefer and are more likely to invest in their daughters and men in their sons.
The survey concluded that parents tend to favour their youngest child over the elder. More than half of the parents quizzed said they preferred their youngest child, while only 26 per cent said that their favourite child was their eldest.
According to a new study conducted by Brigham Young University's School of Family Life, the youngest sibling of the family tends to be mom and dad's favorite child because of perception.
Researchers found that 13.3 percent of the most attractive children were buckled while only 1.2 percent of children categorized as the least attractive were buckled. Researchers concluded that fathers were more likely to favor attractive children when buckling them into the basket.
In concluding the study, co-author and psychologist at the University of Padova in Italy Paola Bressan noted that to the best of her knowledge, “no study has either replicated or supported” the findings from the 1995 study that stated babies resemble their fathers.
A recent study has found that it's not the youngest child that's liked the most. It's actually the eldest! While eldest children around the world have had to be the example for their younger siblings and parents being extra strict on them, it looks like there was a good reason.
Here's a fantastic quote about dads: To a girl, a father is her first love. To a boy, a father is his first hero.