We all know the importance of mothers. They are typically as paramount in the wild as they are in human relationships. But what about fathers? In most mammals, fathers have little to no involvement in raising their offspring\u2014and sometimes even kill the offspring sired by other fathers. How, then, can we explain modern fathers having the capacity to be highly engaged parents? In\u00a0Father Nature<\/i>, James Rilling explores how humans have evolved to endow modern fathers with this potential and considers why this capacity evolved in humans.<\/p>\n
Paternal caregiving is advantageous to children and to society at large, yet variable both across and within human societies. Rilling considers how to explain this variability and what social and policy changes might be implemented to increase positive paternal involvement. Along the way,\u00a0Father Nature<\/i>\u00a0also covers the impact fathers have on children’s development, the evolution of paternal caregiving, how natural selection adapted male physiology for caregiving, and what lessons an expecting father can take away from the book, as well as what benefits they themselves get from raising children, including increased longevity and “younger” brains.<\/p>\n
A beautifully written book by a father himself,\u00a0Father Nature<\/i>\u00a0is a much-needed\u2014and deeply rewarding\u2014look at the science behind “good” paternal behavior in humans.<\/p>\n