ver notice how women carry infants on their shoulder or hip, while men are more likely to tote junior as if he was a football? It's the result of genetic wiring, rather than an ingrained love of the NFL. Dads frequently hold their infants face-forward, perched on an upturned palm and forearm. While this might resemble a football carry, it's actually an ideal position to expose babies to the world around them. From that position, they experience events at the same time and from the same perspective as their fathers. Dads also are well known for their love of horseplay. Why? According to the experts, fathers like to experience their children when they are revved up and very alert. Physical play -- handled carefully -- boosts children's confidence and gives them a chance to experiment with their own physical abilities and limitations. Roughhousing also fills a gap in fathers' physical connections with their children. Mothers, especially those who breastfeed, already are so physically attached to their children that they tend to prefer toys and educational objects, rather than their own bodies, when playing. Dads, however, often treat their bodies as a combination playground and jungle gym. While many modern dads perform the same parenting chores as moms, there are several tasks they approach differently -- with positive benefits for the children, say child psychiatrists. Children whose dads have changed their diapers, fed and burped them, rocked them to sleep and read to them have an emotional reserve of strength that goes a long way in helping them deal with stress and frustrations in later life. Plus, fathers have a different, sometimes more open, view of the world than mothers, and thus can offer another perspective to their offspring. Many of today's dads were raised by traditional fathers who did not assume hands-on parenting chores. But just as workplace opportunities for women have grown, so have the parenting opportunities for fathers. Society -- and working women -- encourage dads to take on more and more of these less traditional roles -- but how they perform the juggling act is a highly individual process. As modern-day parents, moms and dads have the option of looking at the parenting styles of their own parents and choosing the elements that worked. They can also take advantage of countless books, classes and parenting information sources that were previously unavailable. Best of all, dads are discovering that hands-on parenting offers a unique opportunity to learn about themselves, as well as their children. © Your HealthStyle, 2002.