Importance of Father in Children’s Life

“Father, Dad, Papa, no matter what you call them, they influence our lives, and they are the person we look up to.” -Catherine Pulsifer. The importance of a father in an individual’s life cannot be denied. The relationship between children and fathers is a special one. A father’s presence in his children’s lives may be subtle, sometimes, but the influence a father has on his children’s lives is huge. The bond with the father starts when the child is an infant and grows continuously. The word father refers to the male parent of the family or a man who has a child. However, it is important to note that it does not exclusively use for biological fathers or male parents. In many cases, there are adopted children, or there is a step-father to their children. It does not make them less of a father; it is the bond that counts. Moreover, it is not necessary to be a couple or in a relationship to be a father. There are examples of single fathers who rear children without their significant others. It simply means the relationship between parent and child.

What are the Roles of Fathers, Normally?

The traditional roles of the father are minimal. The majority of the fathers were the providers of the family – financial providers. There were few cases where fathers helped in the house used to do household chores or look after their children. However, things are changing with time. Fathers are now more involved in rearing their children. They are taking an equal part in parenting. Many parts of the world still consider the role of fathers limited to their children’s financial assistance, but the trend is changing gradually. The notion of “involved fathers” has gained popularity after research that proposes that fathers’ involvement in their children brought has positive effects on children’s psychological and biological health.

Importance of Father in Children’s Life

There are various ways the importance of fathers can be observed when it comes to children’s personalities. Let’s discuss a few of them.

1. Child Development

Fathers play an important role in the emotional and physical development of their children. First, fathers provide security to their children, due to which the children can explore the world, run around carelessly, and play. All of these things are highly important for the motor development of children in their childhood. Additionally, fathers provide emotional support to their children and look out for them in subtle ways. Fathers often share their life experiences with their children and guide them through life, consequently enhancing their cognitive development. Researches have found out that children with fathers who actively participate in their brought up and mothers show rapid development of cognitions compared to children with fathers who do not participate in their lives.

2. Personality Development

The sense of security and support by fathers gives the children confidence and boosts their self-esteem. Fathers are a perfect mix of supportive, caring, and roughly caring for the children. It provides the children with a different experience in every situation that helps them shape their personality and have inner growth. To children, fathers are great role models, and they look up to their fathers and try to copy their styles. This helps them shape their personalities. This can have negative consequences if the father is not a good person (abusive, alcoholic, criminal, or is involved in an ethically or morally wrong act). Therefore, it is essential to present good examples in front of their children. On the other hand, some children who do not have fathers in their lives are constantly searching or looking up for a father figure in their lives, such as grandfathers, uncles, teachers, etc. According to psychology, these complexes are projected somehow in their lives in later stages.

3. Fathers and Daughters

The bond between fathers and their daughters has always been a special one throughout history. It is often said that the daughters have a special place in their fathers’ hearts. As fathers are the first men in any daughter’s life, they set fathers as the benchmark for men characters in the future. Therefore, it is said that a father’s importance in a daughter’s life is important to influence his daughter and dictate her future relationship with men.

4. Fathers and Sons

It is said that sons share a special bond with their mothers. However, sons also look up to their father as an esteemed figure in their lives. They imitate their fathers and internalize their traits as their own. Their father’s approval means the world to them. They learn to survive and succeed in the world through their fathers. On the other hand, after observing their fathers being abusive towards wives, there are chances the sons end up internalizing these habits too. Therefore, fathers should try to be good models for their children.

4. Betterment in Family System

Since the modern family system encourages both parents to participate in their children’s upbringing, more fathers are taking the role of active parents alongside the mothers. The presence of fathers around children puts the children in a good mood and develops a sense of security. It also provides relief to mothers from the hectic routine that results in mothers’ positive mental health that reflects in their children’s mood. This gives way to equal participation of both parents in the family and stopping the distribution of roles based on the social construct or genders.

5. Empathy in Children

After a two-decade-long study, researchers claim fathers’ involvement in their children’s lives to be one of the causes of the development of empathy among them. Daily activities with fathers and spending time with them helped children empathize with others’ emotions and cognitions in the long-run. Although this is something, both mother and father teach to their children, the father being the head of the family in our family system influences children to a greater extent. This does not mean that the role of the mother is less than that of the father. Both play equal roles in their children’s development in different ways.

6. Problem Solving Abilities

A study conducted in New York revealed that children who play and spend time with their fathers have more advanced problem-solving abilities than those who do not spend time with their children. The reason is that fathers provide their children with practical knowledge as they have more experience and contact with the outside world. Moreover, fathers tend to give their children a chance to learn before helping them in their tasks. This way, a child learns to rely on oneself and develop problem-solving skills.

7. Fathers Help Children Set Boundaries

Fathers, through their behavior and actions, are always educating their children. Similarly, influence their children in forming healthy relationships in the future and set healthy boundaries as they grow up. The way a father teaches his daughter teaches her to view the rest of the men. Likewise, sons learn to become either gentlemen or bad ones influenced by their fathers. The pattern of a father’s personality is a benchmark for children to set boundaries in their future relationships.

Conclusion

All the evidence supports the active involvement of fathers in their children’s upbringing. Indeed, fathers play a significant role in their children’s development and healthy personality growth. The positive impact of fathers on children’s lives demonstrates the importance of fathers in one domain and all aspects of life: physical, emotional, psychological, and social. Therefore, it is highly encouraged for fathers to participate in their children’s lives other than providing financial assistance. Explore other roles as well to maintain a healthy equilibrium.