Fathering

Jun 19 16:31 UTC 2000

There is a good article about some new findings in regards to fathering 
on CNN today. I have also included a link to the actual study. :)  
Article:  http://www.apa.org/journals/fam/fam142200.html
---

Children benefit from fathers' involvement
 
New studies examine men's role in the family

June 16, 2000
Web posted at: 4:05 p.m. EDT (2005 GMT)

ATLANTA (CNN) -- Just in time for Father's Day, new research shows that 
dads do make a difference in the lives of their children, and examines 
what factors influence men's involvement with their kids.

Researchers at the University of Maryland determined that children who 
have fathers in their lives learn better, have higher self-esteem and 
show fewer signs of depression than children without fathers.

The results shouldn't be surprising, according to one expert.

"All you have to do is ask any child, frankly," said James Levine of the 
Families and Work Institute. "You don't have to ask a child development 
researcher if fathers make a difference. All kids will tell you that the 
presence of a father makes a big difference."

Emotional connection key
The researchers interviewed 855 children in five states. All had been 
deemed high risk. Those with fathers in their lives scored higher on 
basic learning skills tests. The findings applied equally to white and 
minority children.

The study did not address whether a bad father is better than no father 
at all. And the findings don't necessarily mean that children who grow 
up in single-parent homes can't be successful. 

"A lot of times these children are getting more attention than they 
would in a two-parent home because the single parent is very conscious 
of the fact that it's one person doing the entire job, so they rely on 
teamwork, cooperation," said Brook Noel of Single Parents magazine.

Whatever the family situation, experts stress that a father or father 
figure should stay emotionally connected with his kids.

"A little is better than nothing," said psychologist Penelope Leach, 
"and you can be really involved with a child on the basis of the talking 
and playing and being there emotionally, even if you can't be there 
physically all the time."

Fathers taking on greater role
What makes a dad get involved with his child? A separate study conducted 
by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development focused 
on that question. The study was published in the June issue of the 
Journal of Family Psychology, a journal of the American Psychological 
Association.

Researchers found that how much both parents work plays a role in a 
father's caregiving activities, as does the man's self-esteem. Fathers 
also tend to be more involved with sons than daughters, according to the 
study.

The researchers followed hundreds of families from 10 cities across the 
United States. The fathers were interviewed about their caregiving 
activities like feeding, bathing and changing diapers when their 
children were between six months old and 3 years old. Some of the 
fathers were also videotaped playing with their children at age six 
months and 3 years, to determine their level of sensitivity toward the 
child.

The study found that fathers were more involved in caregiving when they 
worked fewer hours than other fathers, and when the mothers worked more 
hours outside the home. The finding "suggests that mothers' full-time 
employment creates demands on family life" that require the father to 
take on more responsibility regardless of his attitudes toward child 
rearing.

More involved fathers were also younger and had higher self-esteem and 
lower levels of depression and hostility. However, the researchers found 
that older fathers were more sensitive toward their children.

The researchers concluded that workplace policies that allow fathers 
more flexibility would increase their level of involvement with their 
children. The authors also suggested developing programs to teach men 
about their children's needs as a way of increasing their sensitivity.

CNN Parenting Correspondent Pat Etheridge contributed to this report 


 

response 2 of 2:

Jun 27 19:27 UTC 2000

I agree with that and would go even further as far as being 
opinionated. Heh.

I think Native American culture presents the best model for parenting. 
The mother and the father are of course important but so are aunts and 
uncles and grandparents. I am very active in the lives of my nieces and 
nephews and cousins and consider myself a role model to them. I notice 
a lot of my friends don't consider themselves important in these roles 
though. That is unfortunate.

Of course, Native Americans revered children as treasures too where 
some people today seem to think that way and an alarming amount of 
people don't seem to share that belief at all.