Why fatherhood is important

Also ask your mentor for recommendations on books or videos, blogs, or social media handles to follow about fatherhood that will strengthen your relationship and nurturing skills. The noncustodial parent, often the dad, must make a special effort to maintain a close and loving relationship with the children. When the kids are with you, you can really devote that solid block of time to them.

You may find that you have more free time to develop a fulfilling relationship post-divorce. Father Presence. Father involvement is guided by the following principles: All fathers can be important contributors to the well-being of their children. Parents are partners in raising their children, even when they do not live in the same household. The roles fathers play in families is diverse and related to cultural and community norms.

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Federal and state investments in promoting the positive impact fathers have on their children and families continue to increase significantly. Several cities and counties have also developed innovative fatherhood programming. A majority of states now have some sort of state or local efforts targeting dads in the form of government initiatives, professional and practitioner networks, and nonprofit and community collaborations.

Fathers who attend fatherhood programs find great value in them. The support they find among other fathers, the guidance they receive from the program facilitators, and the community resources and supports that they access keep them coming back. Additionally, fathers report knowing how to communicate better with their children and the mother s of their children, and having an increased sense of confidence and efficacy as a father because of their participation.

Hear directly from some dads in powerful video testimonies produced for the Texas Fatherhood Summit about what motivates them to join fatherhood programs, why they stay, and what they gain. Several small-scale studies have found fatherhood initiatives showing promise, while other programs have registered impacts under more rigorous evaluation designs. Federal funds also support projects that promote rigorous evaluation of fatherhood programs throughout the country, like the national Fatherhood Research and Practice Network , of which CFRP director Dr.

Fortunately, modern fathers want to be more involved and, increasingly, society expects more of them. Scientists are studying, on some level at least, a new phenomenon. Their findings support a conclusion that might change how fathers raise their kids. Fathers are more than just sperm donors , but the DNA sperm carries is important. There is perhaps no greater and more universal father effect than genetic information. Some dads will inevitably pass genetic diseases to their kids.

However, epigenetics — the study of changes in the expression of DNA that are caused by lifestyle choices, the environment, and other outside factors — may be the most important information to look at when studying what effect parents have on their kids. We now know that the decisions a man makes before conception can have lifelong impacts on his kids. Studies suggest that men who binge drink before conception are more likely to have kids with congenital heart diseases and who abuse alcohol.

Poor dietary choices in men can lead to negative pregnancy outcomes. At least one study suggests that men who are stressed before conception may predispose their offspring to high blood sugar. Until the s, experts seldom encouraged dads to take part in parent groups, to participate during labor, or to care for infants. It was generally understood that dads existed to teach their toddlers to walk and their kids to play catch, not to handle baby stuff.

But the past few decades of research suggest that the earlier a dad gets involved, the better. In a book on the subject , researchers argued that fathers who are actively involved in labor are effectively developing relationships albeit one-way relationships with their children. Subsequent studies have suggested this leads to stronger early attachment to the baby. And, as numerous studies have shown, more paternal involvement means better outcomes for kids.

To foster this connection, some scientists have argued that healthy women and newborns should return home as soon as possible after delivery, especially if the father is not allowed to stay overnight in the hospital.

But pregnancy and labor are when the groundwork for the father effect begins, and its importance cannot be overstated. First of all, showing up is half the battle.