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Evolutionarily speaking, offspring have a greater bond to mothers than fathers; women are universally known to be the direct caregivers in a parent-offspring relationship, whereas males are seen as material resource providers or involved only with their own reproductive success. Women have the "maternal instinct" to aid, assist, embrace and invest in their offspring. Males are evolutionarily known to invest less due to paternal uncertainty and therefore seek as many sexual partners and seek for an increase of their genes amongst society.
However, males also have a role in securing a connection with the offspring by taking part in making an offspring's decisions when involved in a household. The vast evolutionary differences between direct and indirect care provided by mothers and fathers, respectively, are therefore overlooked and both parents influence the life decisions of the offspring. Different parenting styles across cultures also influence the temperament of an offspring. Additionally, varying attachment styles can influence the development of an offspring, impacting their future choices on their own mates and parenting skills.
Such parental influences lead to the theories of inclusive fitness as well as parental investment in illustrating the roots of parenting styles relayed upon offspring, such as to ensure the parents' reproductive success as well as their fitness through resources that which offspring obtain when making mating choices.