The Special Role of Fathers 

I first wrote and posted this article 4 years ago – but reading it again I have to tell you – I enjoy it more and more each time. My hope is that all men out there will realize and understand just incredibly important their roles as fathers are and how it influences child’s life.

Here is the original article – Enjoy!

Today is Father’s Day – so it is more than appropriate to acknowledge that very important role that fathers play in any child’s life.

It is now well established that father’s involvement in child’s life is extremely important. Father’s interest increases child’s social development, sense of self-worth and academic success. And as important as women’s part in all aspects of child’s life is, man’s involvement and impact is equally as important but different:

• Father is the first “stranger” in the child’s life, unlike mothers, who children feel as an “extension” of themselves.

• Good relationship with this “stranger” sets the groundwork for dealing wit strangers later in life. Father plays a crucial role  in children’s emotional health and the development of their sense of self-worth.

• As children grow older, fathers tend to push them to take chances in situations in which mothers may tend to urge more caution. Both of these approaches are critical to child’s balanced development.

• Dads – of course – provide something that moms can’t – a model of what it is like to be a man. Children will learn more from what they see fathers to do than what they hear them say. Both – actions and communication are important, showing how man conducts himself with dignity, integrity and respect for others.

• Girls also rely on their fathers to develop a sense of  their own femininity. Girl’s relationship with the opposite sex will be greatly influenced by how she gets along with the first male in her life – her dad. Daughter will learn from her dad that she is worth being loved by a man. If dad has a loving relationship with her daughter, chances are that she will have a very good relationship with her partner later in life.

• One of the most effective way of being an involved father is to ensure direct and real one-on-one conversations with the child, creating a real two-way communication.

• A father who is genuinely engaged in raising his children is doing great stuff not just for his children, but for himself as well.

Remember this:

Kids are sponges who soak up love – and when they have enough of it, they are not shy about giving it back to you

Happy Father’s Day!