Why Father Are Important
Did you grow up without your father? If not, what if you did? How did it make you feel? What was the importance of your father’s presence and involvement in your life? As these are questions I’ve examined to see if a father’s presence and involvement are important to development. The father role present-day is continually diminishing from the values that constitute a traditional family. Non- traditional and single parent family structures are a growing phenomenon. According to U.S. Census Bureau, over 77% of children in the United States live in a single parent home with the mother as head of household or with the extended family (Kreider, 2011). As more families are becoming part of these reconstituted families the responsible of the man of the house along with the father for the kids leaves. Father’s involvement and presence can be beneficial or detrimental to a child’s development, as an individual father possess a different view to development that the other parent can’t replace. The importance of a father’s presence and involvement in life occurrences can be examined as it effects changes within a child’s developmental skills.
In reading, Lifespan Development: Chapter 1, cognitive development and physical development are steps essential to socioeconomic stability. Cognitive development is very important in logical thinking, understanding context, recognizing, and solving problems (Winsor, 2015). Fathers promote growth in cognitive development
The article “The Distinct, Positive Impact of a Good Dad” focuses a lot on the basic impact of how much of an influence a dad is to a child’s life. It explains the difference between how the father impacts the child’s life in a more “open arms” way whereas, a mother has a more “closed arms” impact. Having a good dad around in a child’s life is more likely to make for a better future for the kid, compared to a child who doesn’t have a good dad in their life or little to no dad at all they have a less likely chance for a better future as studies have shown. Studies have shown that mental health is a huge issue with both genders when they have a strong relationship with their father as to being in a household with a
The role of the father, a male figure in a child’s life is a very crucial role that has been diminishing over the years. An absent father can be defined in two ways; the father is physically not present, or the father is physically present, but emotionally present. To an adolescent, a father is an idolized figure, someone they look up to (Feud, 1921), thus when such a figure is an absent one, it can and will negatively affect a child’s development. Many of the problems we face in society today, such as crime and delinquency, poor academic achievement, divorce, drug use, early pregnancy and sexual activity can be attributed to fathers being absent during adolescent development (Popenoe, 1996; Whitehead, 1993). The percentage of
Although single parenthood is on the rise in homes today, children still often have a father role in their life. It does not matter who the part is filled by: a father, uncle, older brother, grandfather, etc...; in almost all cases, those relationships between the father (figure) and child have lasting impacts on the youth the rest of their lives. In “I Wanted to Share My Father’s World,” Jimmy Carter tells the audience no matter the situation with a father, hold onto every moment.
The methods or style of parenting, teaching and engagements strong impacts on the child development as it is the primary socialization point for children. It gives children a point of reference as when they are young they grow observing and learning keenly on what their parents are doing. Studies show that, children that are raised by active, involving and playful fathers performs better in school, have higher IQ and can cope with school related stress easily compared to those that are raised in families where father figure is absent or less involving. It also shows
What is a fathers “responsibility”? Is it to nurture, or is it to provide, maybe even he could do both? In the novel Your Fathers, Where Are They, and the Prophets, Do They Live Forever? Dave Eggers, describes trivial emotional and mental repercussions that occur when there is an absence of a father figure. Sons and daughters alike, any disconnection with a meaningful individual, supposedly relatable in blood, would bring question and concern. A fathers’ relationship and support can be beneficial to any child’s growth. Giving children a solid basis of what kinds of responsibilities go along with being an adult and showing them compassion individualism and what it means to “be a man” is important.
However, not just the mere presence of a father is enough to make a difference in a child’s development. Research has shown that a child’s development is affected by both the quantity and quality of father involvement (Wilson & Prior, 2010). Being an involved father means not only investing economic resources into a child, but also time. Wilson and Prior (2010) found that high levels of father involvement was associated with significant and highly desirable children’s developmental outcomes. Similarly, Bronte-Tinkew, Carrano, Horowitz, and Kinukawa (2008) used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort to investigate whether or not a fathers involvement would play role in infant cognitive outcomes. They found that high father involvement reduces the likelihood of infant cognitive delay. Further they found that this was especially true for male infants and infants with disabilities.
Some scholars have argued the notion that fathers are important contributors to their children and adolescents’ psychosocial development (Mandara, Murray, & Joyner, 2005). According to Allgood, Beckert, and Peterson (2012), researchers are beginning to understand the importance of examining children’s perspectives and the relationships and levels of involvement children have with their fathers.
For various reasons, many children in the United States are living without their fathers in their homes or absent from their lives entirely. This is an issue all across the world and the children are having to deal with the disadvantages caused by the lack of support from their fathers. This issue has a significant effect on society and can be viewed and interpreted from the three sociological perspectives. As a result of many studies, it was found that children raised in father absent homes almost universally experience disadvantages such as: worse health, poorer academic achievement, and a less enjoyable educational experience. There are many variables that need to be taken into effect when considering
There are several parenting styles which guide children throughout their life. These parenting styles can be either good or bad and this will have an effect on the child; either a positive or a negative one. This essay investigates the parenting styles from which emerge questions about the role of the mother and the father. It also focuses on the ways that either too much mothering or too much fathering might have an effect on the child’s identity later on in its life.
Most mothers and fathers love their kids with all their heart. As a child begins to age, parents begin to influence their kids and will mold them as they mature. However, parents without much care for their kids will leave a long-term effect on their children and in this study, the main impact is the father.
The importance of the father’s interaction and influence on the development of infants has become more and more popular in the developmental psychology over the past 10 years (Garfield, Yogman 2016). Although a lot of developmental research focuses on mother-child relationships, recent research is showing that father-child relations have a big impact on infancy development (Rempel 2017). The study has shifted from how “deadbeat dads” effect child development, to how fathers contributing a lot in their family’s effects children. The father’s involvement in a child’s life is most likely determined by marital status (Garfield, et al, 2016). Nonresidential fathers tend to have less contact, or involvement with their children and tends to lead to infant temperament. But research shows that residential fathers, and nonresidential fathers who take part in nontraditional forms of positive father involvement have been associated with children’s academic achievement, emotional well-being, and behavioral adjustment.
Bronfenbrenner 's ecological system depicts the importance of the microsystem because it is where the child has direct contact with its caregivers. Therefore, proximal process interactions are vital when promoting positive development, if they are good experiences. In addition, fathers ' interactions with their children in the Microsystems level differ from the mothers due to their personality, which enhances their child 's development. It promotes positive emotional regulation because fathers ' engage in rough-and-tumble play and discipline their child distinctively (Pleck, 2007). Recent studies on high levels of father involvement demonstrate positive outcomes for their child 's social and emotional development. One must also take into account the father 's background that will affect the child 's outcomes. Some aspects taken into account are their level of education, income status, parenting style and family dynamics.
Growing up without a father or strong male role model in the United States is extremely difficult. Fatherless children are disadvantaged in American society and face a greater struggle to become successful in their personal, educational, and professional lives. The decline of fatherhood in one of the most unexpected and extraordinary trends of our time. Its dimensions can be captured in a single statistic: In just three decades, between 1960 and 1990, the percentage of children living apart from their
Throughout history a one-parent household has been deemed as a nontraditional family, but in today’s society it seems more and more common with every day. Although the reason and causes vary, each year the number of children raised by a single parent increases. Most people don’t seem to realize how much this can change a child’s future. The impact of childhood experiences simply set the disposition of adulthood and the rest of their lives. There is not one sole factor that affects child development, but one very important one is the role and relationship created with one’s parents. How a child is parented and raised leaves a lasting impression on them, commonly for a
By having a father in the home it enables the child to see a masculine role inside the home. The father’s role is not to act as an authoritarian for the mother for punishment, but to also give the child love.