Celebrating the Role of a Father

“Father,  just like mothers, are not born. Males grow into fathers and fathering is a very significant stage in their development.”  David Gottesman

Happy Father’s day to all of you! The Superhero of Our Lives.

You as a father along with the mother are the most important person in a child’s life. The father is the first man in a child’s life and the Mother is the first woman the child will encounter. The role of the mother has been of nurturing through feeding, love and that of a father has been of engaging and supporting through more as “PLAY” & guidance.

Although, the role of the father has changed over time. Now, Fathers do more of hands-on caregiving now; like changing nappies, visiting the doctor, dropping and picking up and helping children with their academics.

Role of a father

Generally, you might find that the role of a father in the child’s world is like a second-class citizen;

Research Says…

that if the child has a father who is more involved; the child grows up to be more emotionally secure. Thus, being more confident in reaching out to his surroundings. Also, he has a better emotional intelligence and good social connections.

Since the father is often in the role of playing with children, he has an impact on child’s social and emotional development. Fathers spend a lot of time interacting one-on-one with toddlers and therefore children model a lot of their feelings and behavior.

If you are actively involved in your child’s life in adolescence, it will result in better intellectual functioning, good verbal skills and greater achievements in life.

As already mentioned,  father is the first male role model in a child’s life.  For an adolescent boy, he aids in building positive gender-role features and in adolescent girls his role is to imprint a positive opinion of men.

As a father, you are also a trainer to your child, their coach. You are the person to whom the child will look up to for problem-solving and enduring difficult situations. It is your duty to teach them how to take the bigger challenges in life and teach them life skills that are necessary for his future.

As a Father to the Family

Therefore, along with being your child’s father, your role as a father is to be a good husband to their mother. Also, How you as a father bond with their mother will set parameters in their mind of interpersonal relationships. Your child will know what to expect from their partners and what is the best way to bond with their spouses in a long-term relationship.

Hence, When you along with the mother are able to bring up a happy, healthy, and loving kid in the society, you do great service to society. One father and one family at a time will make the world a better place to live in.

Learn more about Mentriq and Dr Prerna Kohli.