I'm a new mother and I cannot agree with you more on it now that I'm witnessing this with myself.

Congrats!

There are certain things for which a child needs their mother and for sure she is indispensable but then there are other things where no one can fill in for a father.

As I have reflected on the differences between motherhood and fatherhood, I have come up with an overly simplistic (but nonetheless useful, to me anyway) comparison:

• mothers are paramount to our physical health and survival
• fathers are paramount to our spiritual health and survival

This is not to say that a mother cannot help a child develop and grow spiritually, nor that a father cannot help a child with the physical necessities of life. It's just a difference that I've noticed, with respect to how we are wired and our tendencies.

A child needs both. And, fortunately for those single parents out there, surrogate mothers and fathers are able to step in and fill the gaps left behind by misfortune, divorce, or tragedy.