The Importance of a Father in a Child’s Life

By Jen Brown and Casey Davis

Collaborative Family Engagement (CFE) meetings and encourage the father’s engagement and participation

The involvement of a father in a child's life contributes to their holistic development, fostering emotional well-being, cognitive abilities, social skills, and healthy relationships. The presence of a loving and supportive father figure lays a foundation for a child's future success and happiness.

It is important to note that the significance of a father's role is not diminished in the absence of a biological connection. Father figures, such as stepfathers, adoptive fathers, or other male role models, can have similar positive impacts on children's lives.

Child Advocates of Fort Bend has many ways in which we support our fathers and male caregivers. We provide resources from partner agencies, such as Depelchin’s Dad Program, to DFPS’s website www.getparentingtips.com/parents. We host

TBRI is one of the tools our CASA team uses to help families understand the effects of traumaRecently in our CASA program, a volunteer attended the TBRI Caregiver training with a family member she was working with This family had recently surrendered their their adoptive daughter due to not being able to take care of her because of behaviors she was exhibiting After attending the TBRI training, this father turned to the volunteer and simply said “ we ’ ve been doing this all wrong ” His eyes were wide open, and in that moment, you could see him gain confidence in himself to help rebuild his family. He attended all four sessions, listened to TBRI podcasts and immersed himself in the TBRI “ way ” of parenting. Armed with the tools he needed, his adoptive daughter was returned earlier this year and the family is connecting in a healthy and productive way.

Research shows that fathers who care for, nurture, and play with their babies raise children with higher IQs and with better language and cognitive skills. The more time fathers spend engaging and stimulating play with their child—such as playing pretend or sharing stories—the better the child’s math and reading scores are at 10 and 11 years old.

Zerotothree.org says “While mothers are more likely to form secure attachments by comforting their children when they are distressed, fathers are more likely to provide security in the context of the controlled excitement of play or discipline. This helps children learn where the boundaries of safety and risk-taking exist in the world a very important skill that builds selfregulation and can prevent problems with aggression and violence later on. Fathers push children beyond their comfort zone in the best ways. Dads, typically more than moms, encourage their children to take calculated risks: trying the deep end of the pool, talking to someone new, or finding ways to overcome obstacles.”

Psychology Today adds that “Fathers can serve those roles even when they do not live with the child. For example, regardless of whether they live together, children who have regular positive contact with their father tend to regulate their emotions better than children who have no contact with their father. Nevertheless, if no father is involved, other caregivers can also serve those functions. Family structure is less important than having loving caregivers meeting children’s physical, cognitive, emotional, and social needs.

In addition to these direct effects that fathers have on children, a father can also influence a child’s well-being indirectly through his relationship with the child’s mother. Conflict between parents is detrimental to children’s well-being, especially if conflict is hostile and unresolved. Supportive co-parenting relationships, by contrast, are related to better self-regulation and fewer behavior problems in children. Families function as entire systems, not just as isolated parent-child pairs.”

So this Father’s Day, we hope you know, dads and all men who care for children, how important you are and what a difference you make!