And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4 (NKJV)

I’ve just read a book called Connecting with Your Husband by Gary Smalley, Ph. D. There is a lot of information in the book, but I would like to share one particular bit. Its called "women are from the classroom; men are from the playground." And it deals with the difference between mothering and fathering.

"One of the simplest ways to note the difference between men and women is to watch them with their children. If you’ve ever left the children with Dad or watched your brother handle his children, you know what I am talking about.

It isn’t that men aren’t loving and concerned; we are. Truly. It’s just that the chemical differences in our brains mean we handle children in a fatherly, not motherly, fashion. Keep in mind that we’re talking generalities here, but they are generalities that apply to majority of guys."

Neatly laid out clothing.

Matching socks.

Clean underwear.

Clean hands and faces.

Structured, times activities all within predetermined safety standards.

Planned meals pulling foods from all major food groups, including carrots and broccoli.

Specific bedtimes.

Chores and predetermined rules about running about in the house and jumping on furniture.

A standard cleanup time that involves all children.

Mismatched clothes.

Mismatched socks.

Dirty clothes.

Dirty hands and faces.

Questionable, sometimes dangerous activities.

Questionable food, including Twinkies, soda pop, and candy necklaces, moments before dinner.

Loose bedtimes.

Loose house rules.

Few cleanup guidelines.

Or, as Bill Cosby once said while imitating his children’s reaction to a day with him, ‘Dad is great! Gives us that chocolate cake!’"

A Saturday just might find Dad and daughter under a car. Or Dad and son making a book case or birdhouse. But, instead of Mom being upset, she should remember that the black grease, dirt, and sawdust becomes a glue that binds the hearts of the children to their fathers.

Would it surprise you to know that many daughters and sons cherish memories of time spent with their fathers covered in grease, dirt, and sawdust? And both sons and daughters cherish fond memories of baking chocolate chip cookies with Mom.

The attention, concern, and love of both the father and mother is vital to the healthy development of a child, boy and girl. The unique ways of the father binds the kids to him just as the unique ways of the mother binds the kids to her.