The Different Roles of A Father in child development
“Any man can be a Father, it takes someone special to be a Dad, and that’s why I call you dad because you are so special to me”- Wade Boggs
While any man can father a child, it takes a lot of effort to parent that child. When one talks about parenting a child, one cannot consciously talk about the mom without touching on the roles the father plays in the development of a child… And we are not talking about footing bills here! I am talking about a father being present, emotionally available and supportive to the kids.
The society we live in has painted mothers as the “caregiver” and the father as the “provider” which shouldn’t be the case- many fathers are even better at parenting than the mother (even though it’s not a competition). Men are known to be less emotional and oftentimes neglect their responsibilities as a father. Even though some men are 100% in the life of their kids, the good work still gets unnoticed.
A mother’s love is undoubtedly irreplaceable, children need their fathers to develop healthily, too. Studies show that children raised with loving and caring parents are likely to be more confident, emotionally intelligent, social and happy. More so, they can communicate better with their peers and can concentrate properly at school.
In as much as it is important to provide the basic needs for your kids, being a super dad comes with some super responsibilities and some of them are:
- Being your kids best friend, brother, confidant and father
- Being a teacher to your kids so they can learn all the good things of life
- Being a disciplinarian so you can scold them when they are wrong
- Being a good role model so they can portray good attitudes in the society
- Being a companion, spending time and be physically available
- Let them learn how to pray
- Being your kids best fan and supporter
- Protecting your kids physically from danger or harm, financially and emotionally
- Being a loving and respectful husband to their mother
The involvement of a father in the mental or psychological development of a child cannot be overemphasized; studies have shown that children that have loving and supportive fathers will less likely go into depression, have good self-esteem, can handle real-life situations, and can stand up for themselves.
Fatherhood is no joke and it can be hard adapting from being a young guy to someone’s father, someone people have to look up to. But imagine the positive impact you could have on your little girl or boy when you are as loving as their mom, you attend their school functions, drop them off at school, do things together on weekends- just anything that can strengthen that loving father – child bond.
For everything you do Dad, they will forever be sweet loving memories for your kids, and even if society doesn’t celebrate you as much as they do mums, you will always have a special place in the hearts of your kids…Just be the one in a million dad that gives his all and can go all out for his kids.