Study: Fathers Talk About Emotions More With Daughters

A new study has shown that fathers with toddler daughters are more likely to talk to about emotions than fathers whose toddlers are boys. The study, published in Behavioral Neuroscience, analyzed the language that fathers used with their two year old children over a 48 hour period when being discretely recorded. The results found that sadness related words such as “cry” or “lonely”   were used significantly more by men interacting with daughters compared to sons, it also recorded more instances of fathers with daughters singing or whistling and of using words relating to the body. It is possible that the difference in treatment accounts for increased empathy and emotional intelligence among women, as they are encouraged to consider and verbalize feelings from a young age. It is also notable that there seemed to be a greater focus on girls’ bodies which is concerning considering that women tend to face greater insecurity about their appearance particularly during adolescence.

Many parents do not think that they treat their young sons or daughters differently, but studies such as this show the unconscious way in which we introduce the notion of gender differences to children as young as two. Whilst the study in Behavioral Neuroscience did not draw a direct correlational link between parenting style and gender differences in later life, it is easy to think that our upbringing plays at least some part in how we see ourselves and how we think about gender. 

Published in Behavioral Neuroscience, 2017, Vol. 131, No. 3, 262–273