gender roles...

i had once heard, or read, or saw on TV something about how a kid benefits from having both the maternal and paternal influences, hence having a mother and a father.  i can't for the life of me remember exactly what i was watching, reading, or listening to, so i can't remember if it was of some sort of religious bias that a child needs to have two parents, one of each sex; or if it was an environmental study showing what the effects of only having one or the other parent would have... i don't know.  
but tonight, as i watched my husband play with the baby, i thought about that thing i saw (or read, or listened to.)  i remembered it saying that a man brings competition, sport, etc. into play.  a woman brings nurturing, sensitivity, etc.  i know for a fact that this is not always the case.  i know that not ALL men have that competitive drive and not ALL women have a maternal soul.  i don't buy into stereotypes or grand classifications.  
but tonight, as i watched him play with our five month old, i noticed things that i don't do with her.  he had her standing up (obviously holding onto her) and he was encouraging her to 'walk', then 'crawl'.  all of it spurred on by, "come on.  you can do it."  he and my older daughter play sports and games and they yell about who's going to win and, "i'm gonna beat you!"  i rarely have these same exchanges with her.  and with the baby, i am all hugs and kisses and sweet little nothings into her ears.  with my three year old, i am encouraging and supportive, but in a completely different way.  
it was amazing to have these revelations tonight.  i think that there's got to be something said for their argument (they being the ones i have no memory of.)  that's not to say that i think a child can't be perfectly brought up by a single mother or a single father, or two mothers or two fathers for that matter.  my own father was predominantly raised by his mother and his aunt- his aunt having more cajones than most men i've met.  so, it obviously comes down to you, the parent, and they type you are.  but i thought it was neat to recount this tonight, as i watched him play with our girls.  giving them an edge to life that i had not even known was missing from me.