Without a doubt our culture is patriarchal. Although women have managed to advance the fight for their rights, society still resists change. Girls are still given dolls to develop their maternal spirit and yet boys have to learn it as best they can.
I remember the saying that was repeated in many homes “wait until your father gets home so you can see what is going to happen.” Many mothers put the responsibility of discipline in the hands of the fathers. That is not right. An image of the father is created as if he were the ogre of the home. The father could not often express tenderness because this means he would lose the authoritarian image.
For the benefit of society there are parents who break these schemes. They are those special parents who teach their children with example and not with arguments. There are those parents who instill in their son’s respect for women. There are the parents who talk to their daughters about the value they have and that they can achieve everything they set out to do in life. There are those parents who model for their children the importance of loving and being loved. They are the parents who discipline with a great deal of tenderness. It is that father whom we respect as our mother’s partner in the profession of raising a family.
The fruit that is obtained from upbringing next to a special father is priceless. Congratulations to those parents who make a difference and never give up.
Maria M. Garcia Santiago, BA, MA
