Why do boys prefer to play with their fathers rather than with their mothers?

Previous studies carried out in Western countries on mother-infant and father-infant interactions in play activities revealed the following tendencies. (1) Play activities between fathers and their children are physical and unusual, whereas, play between mothers and their children are conventional and moderate. (2) Boys prefer to play with their fathers, whereas, girls prefer to play with their mothers. The previous studies by the author on outdoor play interactions in Japanese families suggest that these tendencies may be an adaptation to hunter-gatherer lives. In the present study, this suggestion was investigated by examining whether (1) fathers tend to teach their sons how to fish more frequently than they teach their daughters, and (2) boys taught fishing skills by their fathers tend to have better fishing skills than other same-aged boys taught fishing skills by persons other than their fathers. The experiment was performed by obtaining information through a questionnaire from third and fifth grade students in four elementary schools. The results indicate the followings. (1) Fathers tend to teach their sons fishing more often than they tend to teach their daughters. (2) Male students mostly taught fishing by their fathers tend to gain better skills in fishing than those mostly taught fishing by persons other than their fathers.