Reading Comprehension

Benjamin Spock, in a six-hundred-page book on child care, devotes
just three pages to the role of fathers. While he admits that a man does
not sacrifice his masculinity, Spock thinks child care is something the
father should do only occasionally-just to help the mother out. Fathers
who win custody of children in divorce proceedings are often advised
that they should immediately hire full-time housekeepers to function as
surrogate mothers.
But, alas, mothers who win custody are not told to provide surrogate
fathers for them. Margaret Mead, the famous anthropologist, once
remarked that "•fathers are a biological necessity but a social accident."–
Throughout the nineteenth and much of the twentieth century, our
culture has been quite comfortable with this stereotypical view of
fathers. "•Less than ten percent of the scientific studies of parents have
taken the father's role into account, in spite of the fact that half of all
parents are fathers."– Society has not yet changed in any major ways
with regard to fathers as nonparents. However, researchers have finally
realized that "•the motherhood role is not an inherited behaviour pattern,
but a learned set of social skills."–
Female children begin learning these social skills at a very early age;
society makes no effort to see that boys learn these same social skills.
Theories of "•maternal instinct"– and attachment or bonding as being
exclusively maternal are now being called into question. Infants bond
with both the mother and the father. A growing body of literature now
reveals that fathers do have potential nurturance just as mothers do.
Men are increasingly demanding to be accepted as nurturant parents
rather than just the provider and protector.
Young men are beginning to reject the models of parenting provided
by their fathers and are searching for ways to become parents as well
as fathers. A radical restructuring of maleness and fatherhood is
currently under way. Fathering and mothering are two distinct parental
roles. When a male is nurturant, he is fathering, not mothering. Both
mothering and fathering are valid roles, but they are by no means
identical.


1. Fathers who exhibit which of the following actions could count on the author
of this passage to give them his greatest support?

A. Buying educational toys for their children
B. Reading bedtime stories to their children
C. Leaving their children with female babysitters
D. Working in order to pay for family expenses
E. Being nice to their wives

Can anyone tell me why B is the correct option here ?

My approch my be wrong , correct me if i go into wrong direction .

I interpreted the question as it is asking us the option that would strengthen the author's point of view .

Authors point of view :- "Spock thinks child care is something the father should do only occasionally-just to help the mother out"

So B is the only option that addressses the fact of helping wifes(mothers) .


Whats the OE ?

@powepuff

You can quickly eliminate A, C & E (during the first pass) for some obvious reasons stated in the passage.

You'll be left with B & D.

Now, the question stem mentions fathers who can count on the author and not any of the researchers mentioned in the passage. And if you notice, the author's tone changes gradually to a point where he says both parents are responsible for nurturing and caring but just in different ways.

Line 33 - Men are increasingly demanding to be accepted as nurturant parents rather than just the provider and protector.

So, the author is saying that men not only provide but also nurture.
Choice D: fathers --> providers
Choice B: fathers can nurture.
Hence choice B is the right answer.

Hope this helps.

Thanks a lot guys for your inputs. Yes, B is the correct option.

@hja379
Thanks for the explanation. Liked it!