Mothers and fathers in front of the modernity challenges

Abstract

This article’s purpose is to analyze how some men and women have broken with the traditional roles of being mother and father, giving other meanings to the fact of having a son or a daughter and incorporating some modern elements in the parent-child relationship. While fathers include their sons and daughters in their life projects, contrasting the notion of provider as a basis of paternity, mothers confront equation where woman and mother are the equal, sharing maternity with other life projects. In the first part of the article some characteristic elements of traditions are introduced and in the second and third parts characteristics of mothers and fathers who have broken with these traditions are discussed. It shows how some mothers and fathers live their lives in a distant way from the stereotype. They don’t have role models; today, they face conflicts and contradictions with these new challenges. They search for new ways to encounter, try out and make mistakes.