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This Month's Feature Article

A Time to Celebrate Dads

Dr. Malcolm Smith, Family Life and Family Policy Specialist, UNH Cooperative Extension

Sunday, June 21, 2009 is Father’s Day.  Father’s Day first came into being in a small Methodist Church in West Virginia in 1908, and after a host of champions lobbied congress to make the day official, it was signed into law in 1924 by President Calvin Coolidge.

Father’s Day is a good time to think about the importance that devoted fathers and great male role models play in children’s lives.  Over the past few decades a number of studies have confirmed that involved and engaged fathers have a direct impact on the positive well-being of their children. Some of those findings include:

• Fathers’ interaction with their children in the early years is strongly linked to higher academic achievement and better cognitive functioning for their children.
  
• Children with active father involvement in their lives are more likely to get along with their peers, have fewer anxieties and to be, in general, more responsible.
  
• A father’s absence in boys and girls lives has been linked to depressive behavior in boys and behavioral problems in boys and girls.
  
• Children without father involvement are more likely to be living in poverty in the U.S.

In general, fathers and positive male role models are very important to our well-being.  Fathers give us play, they encourage our independence and exploration of the world, and they help teach us how to regulate our feelings and to deal with others.  We lean on them for advice, for comfort and for stability in a changing world.

The role of fathers in society has been changing over recent years.  In the past fathers were often considered and stereotyped as merely bread winners, whose primary job was earning money. Over recent years, fathers have accepted a more involved, nurturing role in children’s lives, and as a result, are spending more and more time with their children.  In addition, the number of fathers who have chosen to stay at home with their children, fathers with sole custody of their children, and fathers who are primary nurturers in their families are all on the rise.

This month is a great time to celebrate the fathers in your life.  It is a good time to thank them, share memories with them, and to remind everyone of the importance of fatherhood.  For some great information and research about the role of fatherhood, visit one of these great resources:

www.fatherhood.org  The National Fatherhood Initiative

http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/usermanuals/fatherhood/index.cfm  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Child Welfare Information Gateway

www.fathers.com The National Center for Fathering

Dr. Malcolm Smith is Family Life and Family Policy Specialist with UNH Cooperative Extension and teaches in the UNH Family Studies Program. He can be reached at (603) 862-7008, or email: malcolm.smith@unh.edu