Why Dads Matter

Fathers play an important role in a child's development from birth through adulthood. In
fact, numerous studies have reached the same conclusion: Children with involved
fathers have an advantage -- socially and academically -- over children with distant or
no relationships with their dads. "We found that fathers who are involved with their
children have children with fewer problems," says Maureen Black, PhD, a researcher
and professor of pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "That
added involvement from a father helps children tremendously." Specifically, her
research found better language skills and fewer behavioral problems in children with an
actively involved father. Interestingly, this result holds true even if the father doesn't live
in the same home as the child -- for example, in divorce situations. It appears that how
involved the dad is -- not where he lives in relation to the child -- is the crucial factor.

According to a study at the University of Illinois, children with fathers who take the time
to ask about what they learned in school and their day-to-day social activities and
relationships do better in school than kids who don't have that kind of input or interest.
And it's important to note that this father figure doesn't have to be a biological father in
order for children to benefit. It can be an adoptive father, stepdad, or an adult male in
the household.

Researchers at the University of Oxford in England reached the same conclusion about
the link between paternal involvement and academic success in their study of 17,000
British school children. Says psychologist Eirine Flouri, one of the study's authors, "An
involved father figure reads to his child, takes outings with his child, is interested in his
child's education, and takes a role equal to the mother's in managing his child." Children
with this type of dad were more likely to get good grades in school, she found.

Dad's Impact on His Sons

Besides those benefits, there are some positives specific to a good father-son
relationship. For example, the researchers at the University of Oxford also report that
boys who have involved fathers are less likely to get in trouble with the police as they
get older. Other pluses, according to experts: A good dad can be a positive role model
for boys and help them to adopt a healthy gender identity as well as a better awareness
of their feelings and emotions.

However, someone other than the boy's birth father can provide a beneficial male
influence. Single mothers can find alternative role models for their boys in an uncle,
grandfather, or good friend. If no relatives or close acquaintances are available, then
mentoring programs such as Big Brothers can provide a willing volunteer.

Dad's Impact on His Daughters

Girls, too, reap some special benefits from having a close father-daughter bond.
According to research from Vanderbilt University, girls who had close, positive
relationships with their fathers during the first five years of life tended to reach puberty
later than girls who had more distant relationships with their fathers. In addition, the
University of Oxford researchers noted that girls who had more involved fathers were
less likely to face mental health problems later in life. Genuine praise and admiration
from a father can help his daughter grow up to be an independent, confident woman.

DADS PLAY KEY ROLE IN CHILD

DEVELOPMENT
Contact(s): Claire Vallotton, Andy Henion

Fathers play a surprisingly large role in their childrens development, from language and
cognitive growth in toddlerhood to social skills in fifth grade, according to new findings from
Michigan State University scholars.

The research provides some of the most conclusive evidence to date of fathers importance to
childrens outcomes and reinforces the idea that early childhood programs such as Head Start
should focus on the whole family, including mother and father alike. The findings are
published online in two academic journals, Early Childhood Research Quarterly and Infant and
Child Development.

Theres this whole idea that grew out of past research that dads really dont have direct
effects on their kids, that they just kind of create the tone for the household and that moms are
the ones who affect their childrens development, said Claire Vallotton, associate professor
and primary investigator on the research project. But here we show that fathers really do
have a direct effect on kids, both in the short term and long term.

Using data from about 730 families that participated in a survey of Early Head Start programs
at 17 sites across the nation, the researchers investigated the effects of parents stress and
mental health problems such as depression on their children. Parental stress and mental
health issues affect how parents interact with their children and, subsequently, childhood
development.

The study found that fathers parenting-related stress had a harmful effect on their childrens
cognitive and language development when the children were 2 to 3 years old, even when the
mothers influences were taken into account. This impact varied by gender; fathers influence,
for example, had a larger effect on boys language than girls language.
Another key finding: Fathers and mothers mental health had a similarly significant effect on
behavior problems among toddlers. Further, fathers mental health had a long-term impact,
leading to differences in childrens social skills (such as self-control and cooperation) when
the children reached fifth grade. In fact, fathers depression symptoms when children were
toddlers were more influential on childrens later social skills than were mothers symptoms.

In sum, the findings contribute to the small but growing collection of research affirming the
effects of fathers characteristics and father-child relationship qualities on childrens social
development, rather than just the fathers residence in the home or presence in the childs life,
according to the paper published in Early Childhood Research Quarterly.

Tamesha Harewood, lead author on the paper in Infant and Child Development, said fathers,
in addition to mothers, should be included in parenting research and family-intervention
programs and policies.

A lot of family-risk agencies are trying get the dad more involved, but these are some of the
things they could be missing, said Harewood, a researcher in MSUs Department of Human
Development and Family Studies. When the agency is talking with the dad, its not just about
providing for your child economically, but also to be there for your child, to think about how
stress or depression might be influencing your child. In order to understand and help children
in their development, there needs to be a comprehensive view of the whole family, including
both mom and dad.

Sigmund Freud said that the strongest need in childhood was for a fathers
protection. This may sound controversial to some but science has proven it to
be true.
Countless studies show the importance of the fathers role in early childhood
and it is now considered to be an important factor in a childs overall social
competence, social initiative, social maturity and the capacity to relate to
others. Every child needs an involved and loving father.
Fathers provide both physical and psychological support and this can even be
seen in the animal kingdom. Consider a penguin family. The emperor
penguin, who is the father, takes responsibility for keeping the eggs warm
throughout the freezing winter months when the female, whose nutritional
level may be depleted after laying eggs, goes to the deep sea for up to two
months.
Interestingly though, sometimes modern society fails to fully recognise the
fathers role in the family and stereotypically limits it to providing financial
support.
We are sadly diminishing the importance of the fathers role in the family and
in the raising of children.
There is an old saying that one father is more than a hundred school
masters. This is true and is borne out by scientific research. Studies have
found that infants with highly involved fathers, as measured by the amount of
interaction, are more cognitively competent at six months and score higher on
the Bayley scales of infant development, which are a standard series of
measurements used to assess children aged 0 to 3. Researchers also found
that such infants had a higher IQ by age three.
Researchers have found that mothers and fathers speak to their toddlers in
very different ways. A fathers talk is characterised by more questions, such
as what and where, which stimulates children and gets them to take over
more responsibility for communication in that interaction.
The benefits of involving fathers in the care of their children during the early
years is not limited to the health and well-being of the children but reflects
back on the whole family. As we can see from the research, families in which
the fathers were involved in raising the children, report fewer accidental and
premature deaths, less than average contact with the law, less substance
abuse, fewer hospital admissions and a greater sense of well-being overall.
As a young mother, I still remember my experience with my first child and the
strong desire to prove to myself and everyone else that I was the perfect
supermom. That struggle loaded my work and family life with mixed feelings of
guilt and unnecessary stress and I lost out on the chance to enjoy and share
responsibility for raising the child with my husband.
It was only later that I understood the saying: it take sa village to raise
a child. Studies have proved that a fathers early involvement in caring for
children helps with marital stability and is even associated with marital
satisfaction in midlife, making it more likely that the couple will still be happily
married 10 or 20 years after the birth of their first child. This data provides the
scientific evidence for us to seek greater involvement of fathers and more
shared responsibility in raising young children.
A fathers involvement in their childs life can start as early as in the delivery
room. Mothers should be wise enough to recognise that trusting the father
with a young infant as early as day one is a strategic investment in the stability
of the family and the mental health of the offspring.
Although many of us in this part of the world may never have heard about
Fathers Day, celebrating fathers and their role is not a new notion.
 The modern tradition of celebrating fathers day in the West goes back to the
early 19th century. It started as an initiative led by a Washington lady named
Sonora Louise. She had the idea of honouring her own father, who raised six
children including a newborn after the death of her mother when she was 16.
Her personal admiration and recognition of her father drove her to fight for the
establishment of a fathers day. It was celebrated for the first time on June19,
1910.
Personally, I am grateful to Sonora Louise. As a child, I always felt guilty when
marking Mothers Day, that there was an unfairness of sorts towards my father
who I admired a lot.
Today, as a mother, it would seem unfair to my beloved husband who gives
as much I do to our children, if his contribution were ignored. So Happy
Fathers Day, dad! You truly give me the greatest gift anyone could give
another person, you believed in me.
Amal Al Jaberi is a Shamsa bint Mohammed Al Nahyan early childhood
development fellow with the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation
Parents are the childs first role model. Children behave, react and imitate same as their parents.
Parents play important role in encouraging and motivating their kids to learn. Good parental support
helps child to be positive, healthy and good life long learner. Children acquire skills at the very early
stage of their life if the parents are responsive and understanding.

As a parent, one of the greatest influences you can have on the development of your child is the
parenting style that you employ when interacting with them. Developmental psychologist Diana
Baumrind developed a classification of four parenting styles based on the behaviors and actions
of parents and how they affect child development. Many recognize the authoritative parenting
style as the most suitable for proper parenting that generally yields positive results in behavioral
development in children.

The Family's Role in a Child's Development

ByJulie ChristensenJan 07, 2013

"The family is profoundly important to the developmental, emotional and cognitive

growth of a child," says Tamara Gold, a New York psychotherapist and parenting
coach. "A child will learn about relationships, manners, self-esteem, worth and
loyalty, all by watching and participating in family."
Whew -- this puts a lot of pressure on families to get it right, but don't worry. You
don't have to be a super parent to raise emotionally healthy kids. Every parent
makes mistakes, and so does every child. Effective families learn from mistakes,
work together and keep trying.

Values
A child first learns about right and wrong in the family. Modern parents face many
challenges in teaching values, says Dr. Michael Osit, author "Generation Text:
Raising Well-Adjusted Kids in an Age of Instant Everything" and a clinical
psychologist in Warren, New Jersey. "With children as young as 3 years old using
the Internet, the access to the world is unprecedented in this generation. Children
are bombarded with messages that are often inconsistent with the parents' values
and behavioral standards for their kids." Committed and involved parents can
strengthen a child's desire to make good choices. Parents teach about values first
by living those values. Children learn much more from what you do than what you
say. Parents can also teach about values by sharing family stories, setting
boundaries and serving others.

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Consistency and Security
"Family life is where the child spends most of his or her learning time," says
Jennifer Little, an Oregon-based psychologist and teacher who works with
learning-challenged students. "School counts, but home is more lasting over the
years. It is where the closest relationships build and allow us to express ourselves
(for good or ill). This does not mean that 'peace and harmony' need to be
constant. Children need to learn about disagreements and how to handle conflict.
The most important support parents can give their children is consistent structure
to the daily routines of life. That structure and consistency gives the child
security."

Coping Skills
"Parents model how to handle emotions when they react to their own feelings,"
says Heidi Smith Luedtke, a psychologist in northern Virginia and the author of
"Detachment Parenting: 33 Ways to Keep Your Cool When Kids Melt Down." She
advises that "parents can teach kids about emotions by giving them specific
emotion words to describe their feelings. Studies show that labeling feelings with
words helps to decrease distress and makes it less likely that an angry person will
act on his or her anger. Words help us make the shift from reacting to
responding."

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Relationships
"Families play an enormously important role in kids' social and emotional
development," says Smith Luedtke. "In addition to being your child's first teacher,
as a parent, you are also his personal coping consultant." Nurturing family
relationships lay the foundation for all other relationships. Through these
experiences, children learn to trust others and seek out friendship and comfort.
These early lessons pave the way for satisfying personal relationships later.