A proverb in China says, “Fathers are outdoors, mothers are indoors.” It means that fathers have to work hard for the support of the family, so they have to be outdoors – to work. And mothers are considered to be indoors – to do the housework, to take care of the children. But that does not mean that the father has no responsibility in raising children.
We Chinese think that child raising is the most important thing in a family, and mental health is essential part of it. The children need to know gentleness as well as aggressive feelings. So it is the responsibility of mothers to teach the children what a gentle feeling rather than an aggressive one.
The responsibility of fathers is the opposite. Fathers have to advise the children when there comes a hard time. He teaches them how to fight back with aggressive feelings. In recent years, the structure of our society has changed a lot, but the roles in child raising are still unchanged.
(Taken from Basic Writing)