For the past 15 years, I’ve thought Fathers Day was one of the most important days of the year (Almost as important as my birthday).
That, of course, was from a very self-centered thought: ‘finally a day I get to do what I want and I get presents as well’. Then, as I began looking into scientific research about the importance of Fathers Day, I discovered that Fathers Day is so much bigger than my little world.
A couple of important notes before we begin.
1) The purpose of this blog is to encourage fathers to be more involved with your children, and for everyone to understand that the role of the father is far more important than most of us could have previously imagined. This certainly includes me prior to this research.
2) Amongst this information are some startling statistics. Statistics do not determine our lives. We take responsibility for lives and determine the direction they will go in, not a set of statistics. I personally was not one that had all these great aspects of father growing up.
Having said that this blog is to:
a) Share some of the reasons why fathers are so important
b) Inspire and motivate you to be a better father no matter what your family situation is
c) Encourage mothers to partner strongly with the fathers of your children where possible.
So here we go… 15 incredible reasons for us to become a much better dad. And mums to help us be better dads. There ere 7 reasons in this blog today, and another 8 on Fathers Day.
1) A child who experiences a safe, secure and stable relationship with his or her father, is more likely to have a well regulated response to stress. University Newcastle NSW
2) Overweight children and adults start their eating and exercise patterns early in life. The fathers are crucial if we are to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic. Eg An analysis of over 3000, 2 parent Australian families found that having an overweight father (but normal weight mother) quadrupled the chances of children becoming overweight. In the reverse, an overweight mother but a normal weight father, did not significantly raise children’s risk of being overweight. University Newcastle NSW
3) Boys whose fathers are involved in their lives (taking them out, reading to them, taking an interest), at age 7 were less likely to be in trouble with the police at age 16.
4) Noted sociologist Dr David Popenoe states “Fathers are more than just second adults in the home. Involved fathers bring positive benefits to their children that no other person is likely to bring”
5) Infants with involved, caring, nurturing and playful fathers have better educational outcomes. Including but not limited to higher IQ’s, better linguistic and cognitive capacities. They are more patient and can handle stresses and frustrations associated with schooling more readily
6) A US education department study found that where there were highly involved biological fathers, the children were 43% more likely than other children to earn mostly A’s and 33% less likely to repeat a grade at school
7) Children who have an involved father are more likely to be emotionally secure, be confident to explore their surroundings, and, as they grow older, have better social connections with peers. These children also are less likely to get in trouble at home, school, or in the neighborhood.
Kingsley Colley
creocultura.com