Citation

Mitchell G, Obradovich S, Herring F, Tromborg C, Burns AL. Sex Roles 1992; 26(7-8): 323-330.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1992, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/BF00289915

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Adults of different sex interact differently with toddlers. In home and laboratory, fathers/adult males are the primary agents of sex typing and mothers/adult females are the primary caretakers, especially in the managerial aspects of child care. Little is known about the public display of childcare. Observations were made of 1588 adults (794 males and 794 females) and 1122 toddlers at: 1) a zoo, 2) an amusement park featuring rides, and 3) a theme park based on nursery rhymes. The subjects were "family parties" of one adult male, one adult female and one or more toddler(s). Adult males were more likely to carry toddlers and adult females were more likely to push empty strollers. Location differences were minor, as were differences in the way male and female adults interacted with toddlers of different sex. There was a toddler-of-like-sex preference in "parent"-toddler interaction.

Language: en