Let's hear it for the Dad's

What if I were to tell you that Father’s are just as important in a child’s life as a mother, if not more important...not really coherent with what you have seen in the media today right? Didn’t think so. The media has put a huge focus on how important mothers are in a child's life, disregarding the impact of a father. How much more do we celebrate mother’s day than we do father’s day? So much good comes from children when they have involved fathers in the home. An article from Focus on the Family, brings up some very important points about a father’s influence. The first point is that a father with a nurturing and active style of parenting has to do with better verbal skills as well as academic achievement and intellectual functioning among adolescents. This has to do with the fact that a father’s parenting style is significantly different than a mothers. There are many differences between the ways a father parents versus a mother. 

The second point talks about how Dad’s will typically encourage risk-taking. They will encourage their children to try new things and experience the riskier parts of life. They provide kids with a broader diversity of social experiences. Father’s introduce a bigger variety of methods in dealing with life. Father’s will tend to encourage rules, fairness, justice, and a duty in the discipline. Father’s also teach their children the objectivity and the consequences of making right and wrong choices. 

Third, they mention that another difference with fathers is that they encourage competition which in turn encourages independence. This competition also has a bit to do with the risk-taking aspect of a fathers parenting. Whereas mothers typically promote equity which provides a child with a sense of security. This sense of security is absolutely necessary for a child, however doesn’t promote risk taking and going out of our comfort zones. 

Fourth, father’s will emphasize abstract communication and mothers will focus more on sympathy and care. The play from a father has an important impact on a child’s emotional and social development. Because of the one-on-one interaction a child has with their father, they learn how to regulate their feelings and behavior which is such an important skill for a child to learn. 

 Lastly and I think one of the most important is that Dads see their children in relation to the rest of the world, Mom’s will see the rest of the world in relation to their child. These different outlooks create such different parenting styles. Research demonstrated that having a nurturing and loving father is as important for a child’s happiness and their social and academic success as having a nurturing mother. Maybe let’s start encouraging our father’s just as much as we encourage and love our mothers. Some studies even showed that a fathers love was a stronger contributor to certain important child outcomes. 

I realize now after doing the research how much an impact my father has had on my life. Ever since I was a child, my father has been one of the most patient and forgiving people I know. Many times in my life when I would have issues with my mother, I would go to my dad who would help smooth the issue and make things more clear and easy to understand for each side. His perspective gives off a much different style of parenting than my mother which creates a healthy diversity in the home. We work through problems so much better with the help of my dad. He has been the one that encourages me to take risks. I would not have done half the things I have done in my life if it weren’t for the encouragement from my father. 

I personally have great social skills and I think it has to do with the way my father specifically has raised me. The influence of my dad has taught me how to deal with others and has set the standard for my social behavior. As a child, my father has been involved in my life and has played and spent time with me and because of that I know how to work well with others.

So let’s work to give more of applause to our fathers instead of regarding them as simply a ‘second parent.’ Let’s work to have more fathers in the home to have a better upbringing for our children.