Like mothers, fathers are a pillar in the development of a child’s well-being, both physical and emotional. Studies have shown that when a father is involved in a child’s upbringing, when he shows his affection and support, the child benefits in mental and social development. Also, it is the father who instills self-confidence in the child and helps him to form self-esteem.

It is not surprising, but a recently published study showed that the father significantly influences the development of the child from the first days of life, being an important factor in terms of the success of breastfeeding and the safety of the baby during sleep.

Why is breastfeeding strongly supported and encouraged? Because according to all experts in the field, including the World Health Organization (WHO), breastfeeding protects newborns from infections and saves lives (infants are at greater risk of dying from diarrhea and other infections if they are on mixed or no not breastfeeding). ), improves the child’s IQ, but also reduces the risk of breast cancer for the mother. The WHO recommendation is that exclusive breastfeeding should last up to six months and then continue with adequate diversification for up to two years or more.

An expert on father-child relationships: “In recent years, the father’s role has changed…”

A study of 3,594 women from Australia, the United States, Great Britain, New Zealand, Indonesia, Germany, Brazil, Russia, France, Portugal, Spain, Holland, Italy and Romania, cited by tutuldespremame.ro, found that women who receive with help from their partner, are much more likely to continue breastfeeding for a longer period of time. “The role of the father has changed in recent years. Men are now much more willing to be included in the process of raising a baby.

Not only has the percentage of their presence at birth increased, they also take on many responsibilities for the care and upbringing of the child. This category also includes involvement in the process of breastfeeding, a very important aspect in creating a bond between father and child, with benefits that the baby will experience throughout his life,” said Professor Abu-Dakn, Chief Gynecologist at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Berlin and a specialist in the field of father-child bonding.

The study found that whether or not parents encourage breastfeeding makes a difference. In couples where parents said they wanted their baby to breastfeed, 95% of mothers tried to breastfeed, and 78% continued to do so after nine weeks. In contrast, in cultures where parents did not want their children to breastfeed or expressed no opinion about it, only 69% of mothers tried to breastfeed, and after eight weeks only 33% of them continued to breastfeed. This supports the earlier finding that the main reason mothers decided to switch from breastfeeding to bottle feeding was the father’s feelings about breastfeeding versus bottle feeding. Thus, as another breastfeeding study has shown, parents should be recognized as essential members of the breastfeeding triad, and their involvement has important benefits for the entire family.

The dream of parents and children

Statistics show that over the past 50 years, parents have tripled the amount of time they spend raising their children, and growing evidence links parental involvement with positive outcomes for children’s health. For example, father involvement in child care is associated not only with the initiation and continuation of breastfeeding, but also with fewer nighttime awakenings of the child and improved maternal sleep.

For these reasons, educational campaigns about breastfeeding and safe sleep have begun to involve parents. And the results did not have to wait long: dads proved that they are correctly practicing their children’s sleep. So, in a study from June 2023, 99% of participating dads said that they put their baby to sleep, and even following the basic rules of safe sleep: the position of the baby should be on his back, on a flat surface, hard.

More time is offered to the child, fewer risks for his health

Parental involvement can also have surprising consequences, in a good way. For example, a study conducted in Japan that sought to examine the relationship between father involvement in child care and child weight found that children whose fathers were actively involved in caregiving had a lower risk of becoming overweight or obese compared with those children whose father was involved. was reduced or absent.

Fortunately, research shows that “Millennial parents believe more in equality when it comes to child care and try to have a more balanced distribution of parenting responsibilities in their households. The data shows that it’s not perfect – many dads admit that housework is still not done evenly in their homes (mum does more), but a recent study found that today’s dads spend 30 minutes more a day on housework than their parents and spend more time with their children than previous generations,” reports totuldespremame.ro.

Parents form children’s self-confidence

Even if these things were already known, science once again confirms that both mother and father are equally the support of a child’s emotional development. But if we mention only the parental figure this time, we should note that parents are those who give children, regardless of age, a sense of both physical and emotional security, general well-being and self-confidence.

Children want to make their parents proud, and an involved, caring and supportive parent will make a significant contribution to their child’s cognitive and social development as they grow up. What a father looks for in other people will depend on how a father treats his child. Friends, lovers and spouses – everything will be chosen based on how the child perceived the meaning of the relationship with the father. The patterns a father sets in his relationship with his children will determine how the child treats other people.

“Involvement in everyday activities, such as having dinner together, watching TV, playing in the yard and video games, are more important than going outside or with a tent, even if they also contribute to the child’s development,” the website tutoldespremame.ro quotes the conclusion of a study by Brigham University researchers Yang.

Lack of parental love and possible consequences

If enough is known about how beneficial a father’s involvement in the care of a child is and how important it is for his cognitive, emotional and social development, perhaps it would be at least as interesting to learn how the absence of parental affection can harm him. .

In the spring of 2023, a study was published by researchers in China that aimed to develop a tool to measure teenagers’ experiences of a lack of parental love. In this study, the concept of “absence of parental love” was defined differently than “absence of father”. If the “absence of a father” implies more of a physical absence, the absence of a father’s love” focuses on the psychological aspect. Thus, “absence of parental love” was defined as alienation of the father from the child from an early age in terms of emotions, behavior, cognition and will.

The survey, based on a questionnaire, included 2,592 high school students and was considered a meta-analysis based on 33 studies conducted in 15 countries on four continents, which found that a father’s indifference or contempt for a child is closely related to psychological discomfort and negative personality tendencies. such as hostility, instability, and negative self-esteem.

Father-child relations in adolescence

Experts note that prevention is much more effective than intervention. And this is also true in the relationship between parents and teenage children. “A warm relationship, with strong emotional ties, in which the child knows that the father is there for him, that he knows him, with a father who is attentive and connected to the needs of the child, facilitates adaptation during the transition to adolescence, reduces number and intensity of tense moments. Conflicts, of course, cannot be avoided, but they will not be dramatic, and their resolution looks quite natural. Adolescence also presents an extraordinary chance to mend before sending a dysfunctional adult into the world. And conflicts show me exactly where I can intervene, both from the point of view of my personal development, as a father, and in the relationship with my child,” says psychologist and psychotherapist Corina Dobre.

The specialist recommends that parents remain calm during conflicts with teenagers. “If I feel like I’m getting carried away, I stop the conversation and come back when I’m no longer emotional. It is also an important lesson in self-control for a teenager. Don’t forget who is a teenager in the room…”, the psychologist wants to clarify.

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