A paternal parent is a father, and a maternal parent is a mother, as the titles imply. So their only distinction is their gender. Paternal parents are identified by males while maternal parents are identified by females; there is no other way to identify them. In most societies, paternal authority is associated with power and influence while maternal authority is associated with care and love. This is probably because males are generally expected to be responsible for providing resources for their families, while females are expected to be responsible for reproducing it. As a result, males tend to exercise more authority over their families than vice versa. Paternal parents are considered the primary caregivers of their children. This is because males are usually the ones who provide resources for their families, so they should have priority when it comes to caring for those families. However many mothers now have a role to play in parenting too, especially in countries where both fathers and mothers share responsibility for childcare. In some cultures where patrilineality (the concept that inheritance depends on the male line) is common, males can also be considered the primary caregivers of their children because all the attention and responsibility falls on them. In these cultures, mothers often take a secondary role to their husbands or partners.