Angie's DIARY | Online Writing Magazine

Most women are born with maternal instinct. All about the time we start to hit puberty our hormones start to take on a life of their own. We begin to make the change from girl into woman. It’s not always a pleasant experience, physically and emotionally. I remember feeling like the world was ending when I had a fight with a friend.

And boys…they were an alien creature that went from hot to cold, and cold to hot at the rate of a race horse. Hmmm, have they altered much??

These transformations are a sign that our body is preparing to reproduce.

Not every woman is filled with a desire, or fondness for having children, but what I have noticed, as I did myself, teenage girls have a deep patience and kindness toward children. Therefore, parents hire teenage girls as babysitters.

But my question, are men born with paternal instinct? Do they have a natural capability to become a father? I have heard from men that they are overcome with a sense of fright when they learn they will be a father. Suddenly, their responsibilities have tripled and they are set upon a new, mystifying path of becoming a role model to a little, and dependent being.

When I think of a mother’s love for her child, my first thought is breastfeeding. It holds such importance, especially in the first months of a baby’s life. It gives a mother the chance to bond with her precious child. Not to say that bottle feeding lacks in this sensational bond, but a woman is given this capability not only to provide nourishment, but to share in nurturing moments that implant within a child for years to come. Studies on breastfeeding have proven this.

When I think of a father’s love, I think of the moment his child is born into the world. The moment he sets his curious, and maybe misty, gaze upon a tiny human being. The first touch, the first time he holds her in his arms…it’s all amazing to watch. A masculine, strong man melting into tears and mush over a toothless, chubby wonder.

If I had to guess, I’d say this is also an astonishing, and transforming moment for a man. I’ve seen boys become men under the bewitchment of their child. I’ve seen men with the coldest heart turn soft with the flash of a child’s grin.

A mother’s love is wonderful, but somehow, a father’s love is like watching the man you love move mountains. In this, a father/child’s bond becomes permanent.

• Fathers Step Up To The Plate And Claim Your Children
• Fathers and Daughters
• Love Child