Because of Dads, Boys May Turn Dumber

The fact that a mother is more important than a father has become clear. A new study from the University of Bristol and published in Research in Public Policy from the Center for Market and Public Organization has found that some fathers would deliver to their young sons less intellectual stimulation than their mothers. Boys staying over 15 hours weekly with their father as toddlers had lower academic performances when they started school.

The trend of fathers raising their children by themselves is increasing and the research analyzed the case of over 6,000 children, born in and around Bristol in the early 1990s, having lived at least their early lives in a household with both parents. Fathers were more likely to provide primary childcare in the first 3 years than relatives, childminders or nurseries.

About 30 % of the children were cared for only by their fathers at least five hours weekly. In the case of toddlers, the number rose by 60 %. 13 % of infants and 20 % of toddlers used to stay with their fathers for over 15 hours weekly.

Boys (but not girls) spent over 15 hours weekly in paternal care as toddlers had lower academic performances when they began school, and the result was the same even when parents' economic or psychological traits were taken into account. This was due to the fact that, on average, fathers do not offer lower levels of mental stimulation compared to mothers. Fathers may be focused more on monitoring the physical needs of the child, being less preoccupied with activities stimulating a child's intellectual capacities.

Instead, fathers could interact differently with daughters or girls could be less sensitive to the levels of home mental stimulating factors. But moderate care of toddlers from fathers was connected with better academic results at the beginning of school, for both boys and girls. This could be because mothers and fathers interact differently with children, exposing them to different social behaviors and increasing their social competence.

The paternal effect took place only between children who were 1-3 years old. Paternal care after that age had no effect compared to maternal care. Children seem to be more sensitive to the environmental factors by about one year old, when parenting differences between mother and father start to have an influence.