Other than being able to breastfeed, researchers have not found any adolescent parenting skills that women have more naturally than men. In fact, about 1 million U.S. children are being raised by single dads, and most do just fine.
However, in the past, most women have worked harder at parenting than have most men. All this work made them better at their job. For example, they hear the baby cry at night because they’ve trained themselves to hear—just as a man might train himself to detect engine trouble in a car.
Parenting is a gender behavior. Anyone can learn to be a better parent. Men can do the job just as well as women, and many do. Getting better at parenting takes work, just like any skill.
Source: Parenting the First Year, month 8-9. University of Wisconsin-Extension. NCR Publication No. 321.