Father’s day is coming up this Sunday and we can’t think of a better time to talk about how important and vital fathers are in the family unit. In fact, involved fathers are linked to better outcomes on nearly every measure of child wellbeing, from cognitive development and educational achievement to self-esteem and social behavior. “Children who grow up with involved fathers are: 39% more likely to earn mostly A’s in school, 45% less likely to repeat a grade, 60% less likely to be suspended or expelled from school, twice as likely to go to college and find stable employment after high school, 75% less likely to have a teen birth, and 80% less likely to spend time in jail.*”Unfortunately when it comes to parenting society has presented fatherhood in a less than stellar way. Depictions of dads in popular culture push the stereotype of fathers as stupid, emotionally unattached, “bonus” parents who are not nearly as important to their children as their mothers. As a result, Fathers often feel the need to take a backseat when it comes to being involved with their children and can face ridicule for things like admitting that they help with things like bathing their child or engaging in play with them. In reality, although a mother’s love is important and special, having an active father figure plays an equally important role in the healthy development of a child.
God made the family unit specifically to have a mother and a father and there is a good reason for that. Fathers raise their children differently than mothers. Fathers love more “dangerously” according to Focus on the Family. Fathers specifically promote risk-taking, a broader range of social engagement, and different ways of dealing with life. Fathers encourage competition and independence and even the way fathers talk to their children encourages a wider variety of language development.
Dr. David Popenoe, Professor of Sociology at Rutgers University and Co-Director of the National Marriage Project, says this: “Fathers are far more than just “second adults” in the home. Involved fathers – especially biological fathers – bring positive benefits to their children that no other person is as likely to bring. They provide protection and economic support and male role models. They have a parenting style that is significantly different from that of a mother and that difference is important in healthy child development.
Dads, you are needed and wanted and you DO matter in the life of your children.
Happy Father’s Day!
