Sara Dobson
Rachel Henwood - Freelance WriterThe Importance of Being Dad
March 1st 2009 03:16
When I was pregnant, every one asked me how I felt about becoming a mother. Truth is I was very nervous. In today’s society, there is still the expectation that the mother will play the major role in bringing up the children. Indeed, most of society’s ills are blamed on mothers. However the more I read about this, the more I realise that the fathers role is just as crucial in the psychological well being of the child.
More men are now participating in the hands on care of their child, and the ones I have spoken always tell me what a rewarding experience it is. Even more importantly though, research shows that children with fathers that are actively involved in the child rearing process tend to be less stressed or delinquent, (M Black from the Maryland School of Medicine). They also have better language skills, and fewer behavioural problems than children with absent or uninvolved fathers.
There is more to it than wiping the odd dirty bottom and giving the child a bottle. The fathers who are involved in their child’s physical and emotional upbringing throughout childhood report closer relationships with their children when they reach adolescence (Flouri and Buchanan Oxford University). Furthermore, children who have a close relationship with their father in adolescence go on to have more satisfying adult relationships.
Parental involvement is also a significant factor in children’s later academic attainment, with those having both parents involved at age 7 having reached higher academic levels by the age of 20.
The good news is that the same results were seen even with fathers who no longer live with the mother as long as they keep up the relationship with the child.
I think a child needs of plenty of love and care to provide them with a sense of worth and confidence, without having an over inflated idea of their self worth. There think there are plenty of fathers that want to be involved from the beginning but feel pushed out by the over protective mother. Fathers need to be given the opportunity to make mistakes and find their own way in the same way mothers have
More men are now participating in the hands on care of their child, and the ones I have spoken always tell me what a rewarding experience it is. Even more importantly though, research shows that children with fathers that are actively involved in the child rearing process tend to be less stressed or delinquent, (M Black from the Maryland School of Medicine). They also have better language skills, and fewer behavioural problems than children with absent or uninvolved fathers.
There is more to it than wiping the odd dirty bottom and giving the child a bottle. The fathers who are involved in their child’s physical and emotional upbringing throughout childhood report closer relationships with their children when they reach adolescence (Flouri and Buchanan Oxford University). Furthermore, children who have a close relationship with their father in adolescence go on to have more satisfying adult relationships.
Parental involvement is also a significant factor in children’s later academic attainment, with those having both parents involved at age 7 having reached higher academic levels by the age of 20.
The good news is that the same results were seen even with fathers who no longer live with the mother as long as they keep up the relationship with the child.
I think a child needs of plenty of love and care to provide them with a sense of worth and confidence, without having an over inflated idea of their self worth. There think there are plenty of fathers that want to be involved from the beginning but feel pushed out by the over protective mother. Fathers need to be given the opportunity to make mistakes and find their own way in the same way mothers have
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