Dads Matter, Even For Baboons

Amy Kuras — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 21:03:00 GMT

A recent review by Swedish researchers of 20 years of data on father-child relationships bears out an idea that should surprise none of us: Dads matter.

Specifically, having an active, positively involved father reduces behavior problems in boys and psychological problems in girls. And it has a significant effect on reducing criminal behavior in kids from low-income families and improves intelligence, reasoning and language development.

Why, it's like dads are breastmilk!

"For example, we found various studies that showed that children who had positively involved father figures were less likely to smoke and get into trouble with the police, achieved better levels of education and developed good friendships with children of both sexes," says Dr. Anna Sarkadi from the Department of Women's and Children's Health at Uppsala University, Sweden.

"Long-term benefits included women who had better relationships with partners and a greater sense of mental and physical well-being at the age of 33 if they had a good relationship with their father at 16."

And hell, the benefits apparently hold true for baboons as well.

The researchers are calling on healthcare professionals to encourage and welcome more engagement from fathers, and on policymakers to set policy that makes it easier for dads to be involved.

It seems like a no-brainer, but I know that sometimes people focus on my role as mother and kind of dismiss that tall guy standing next to me who knows our kid as well as I do. Lots of the networking that goes on among parents tends to be mother-focused. A little more dad love would be good for everybody, methinks.

Dads Rule: New Data Tells Us Fathers Matter (A Lot)

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 14:11:00 GMT

Ok so we know sometimes dads get a bum wrap. We've heard them take note of their minority status in the blogosphere. We've read that they sometimes feel like "just a paycheck." And we know several groups have formed in Britain and the U.S. to insure father's rights in custody battles. There is no doubt that fathers are often under-appreciated, sometimes deservedly so.

But have you ever been a single parent? I have and I'll tell you what. It sucks. Don't get me wrong. Being in a lousy relationship with an unhelpful parent partner can be terrible too. But when you are in a relationship with a good father, the relief is immense and the yoke of motherhood can become downright manageable.

The father-child relationship is incredibly crucial to the healthy development and maturation of kids into adulthood. A recent study found that the quality of the father-child relationship is predictive of success in intimate relationships in adulthood. I've seen my children with and without an active father person in the home. And the difference is immense. So maybe I should seriously consider that request for a "man space" after all.

Strollerderby : importance of dads

Dads Matter, Even For Baboons

Dads Rule: New Data Tells Us Fathers Matter (A Lot)