New Research Confirms Father's Importance for Children

Everyone knows that mothers are vital to the development of children. However, people often wonder what fathers contribute. Do fathers matter?

Everyone knows that mothers are vital to the development of children. However, people often wonder what fathers contribute. Do fathers matter?

According to a study in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Family Psychology, they certainly do. The study, which researched what mothers and fathers did differently in the home and how it affected children, was co-authored by Randal Day and Laura M. Padilla-Walker, both professors in the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University.

“We actually looked at if fathers have the same impact as mothers. It’s unfair to claim that if fathers are not mothering, they are not contributing,” Day said. “There’s a difference in what they do and what they contribute.”

The study involved three different waves of interviews and in-depth questionnaires with seven hundred families. Fathers, mothers and children were interviewed regarding the roles of mother and father and how children were affected.

“The fathers and those mothers in that data set show that there are different contributions,” Day said. “Father’s involvement and connection with children is . . . associated with internalizing pressures, like depression, and also externalizing behaviors, like acting out in school and getting into trouble.”

The more fathers are involved, the better children will feel and behave. Mothers in the study tended to have more effect on adolescent pro-social behavior.

The study of fatherhood is a relatively new area of research Day said, around twenty years old, but the research is pretty clear on the importance of fathers. With increasing knowledge of fathers’ contributions, and increasing cases of children without involved fathers, other academics and institutions have placed more emphasis on studying fatherhood. They have found valuable details about how fathers help children.

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Child Trends, a non-profit research center, published a study indicating that, while fathers may have less time for children because of employment, father involvement is a greater predictor of academic performance than mother involvement.

This is because fathers are often concerned with the educational and professional success of a child, said Bradford Wilcox, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Virginia.

“Dads are more likely to take the long term view and to encourage kids to embrace life’s challenges and opportunities,” Wilcox said.

Several traditional roles are also invaluable for children. The role of the provider is something many lose sight of, Wilcox said. Another traditional contribution of fathers is discipline.

“Dads play an important role when establishing a climate of order in the household,” Wilcox said. “Dads tend to have an authority when it comes to discipline. They are more firm; they even speak in a deeper tone of voice.”

Fathers also roughhouse and are more playful physically than mothers, Wilcox said. This is not only fun, but allows children to learn how handle their bodies better.

Fathers’ contributions in the home have always been important, but it seems their contributions are expanding as well. Marcy Carlson, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin said that in the last several decades, married fathers have been taking more responsibility for child care and children’s activities than they have before.

“We’ve seen a big broadening in terms of what fathers do,” Carlson said. “A lot of married fathers, not only are they typically working and supporting the family, but they’re also involved, especially on weekends, with play—going to soccer games and helping to manage sleepovers. So, it’s a much more differentiated role for men than earlier in the twentieth century.”

While men may be visiting elementary schools and changing more diapers than they used to, much of their involvement with children still rests with mothers.

“The mom really plays a central role in helping give the dad access and encouragement about spending time with the child,” Carlson said. “I think that having a positive spousal relationship is something that has pretty consistently been shown in the research as also affecting the dad’s both quality and quantity of his interaction with the child.”

Mothers will always hold an invaluable role in children’s lives, but as research is showing, so will fathers.

“I think fathers are really important,” Carlson said. “Trying to think about what allows them to do their job and what lets them be more involved in children’s lives is really important.”