It is of utmost importance for children to grow up with both parents present and active. This gives a child a sense of safety, belonging and self-worth. A child grows up knowing that they are loved and seen and parents serve as role models for their children to show them how to navigate life.
Both parents play different roles in a child’s life, here is how fathers contribute to the equation and how important they are.
Emotional development
According to the Pediatric Associates of Franklin publication, dads are the ones who set and uphold the rules for their children. In addition, kids look to their fathers to give them a sense of emotional and physical stability. “Children want to make their fathers proud, and an involved father promotes inner growth and strength. Studies have shown that when fathers are affectionate and supportive, it greatly affects a child’s cognitive and social development.” Additionally, a good relationship between a child and father fosters a general sense of well-being and self-assurance.
Fathers raise the standard for relationships with others: The above-mentioned publication states that fathers shape not just our inner selves but also the relationships we have with others as we mature. It further claims that what a child searches for in other people is influenced by the way their father raises them. “The child’s understanding of the significance of the relationship with his or her father will determine who is picked as a friend, lover, and spouse. The patterns a father sets in the relationships with his children will dictate how his children relate with other people.”
Different parenting style from mom: Dr. David Popenoe, a professor of Sociology and Co-Director of the National Marriage Project shared with the Focus On Family publication the significance of the father figure in a family. He said that fathers love their kids “more dangerously,” they play “rougher” and are more inclined to promote taking risks. Dr David claims that dads give children access to a wider range of social experiences. “They tend to stress rules, justice, fairness, and duty in discipline. In this way, they teach children the objectivity and consequences of right and wrong. They give kids insight into the world of men.” The professor further claimed that fathers educate kids about life’s obstacles and provide an example of what it means for men and women to respect one another.
Fathers with daughters: A review by the Father Involvement Research Alliance found that teenage girls who are close to their fathers are less likely to become pregnant and that girls who have involved fathers have higher self-esteem.
Fathers with sons: The review from the research above also found that boys with present fathers show higher levels of self-control, less impulsivity, and less violence.
Also see: A peek into the life of a single father
