13 Jun 2008
Jack had already moved the plants, gardening tools and bags of top soil to the backyard and had started to dig. Emily ran to turn on the garden hose, while Ben stood beside his dad, asking “me help?” John had two willing gardeners ready to go, so together they planted. “Thanks! You two were a great help.” Planting the garden took a little longer than planned and the plants weren’t exactly as wished-for, but John could see how pleased the kids were just to spend time with him. When grandpa arrived, there were two kids, covered in dirt, who couldn’t wait to show off their efforts.
There is growing evidence that fathers influence the healthy development of their children and that positive father involvement has a beneficial effect on kids and their dads. Be it gardening together, singing to babies, playing building blocks with toddlers or just throwing the ball in the backyard, regular interactions between dads and their children help them to develop into happy healthy children.
Playing with our children is more important than we may realize. Play is “the work of children”. From the very beginning, play gets the brain working, promoting problem solving, learning and the development of language skills. It’s playing with parents, including dads, that has the most positive influence on children’s brain and overall development. Taking the time to play with children is also a way for dads to show love and affection.
Children who have a loving, secure relationship with their dad feel better about themselves and have more opportunities to experience success. They are also able to build trusting relationships with others and are more likely to be ready to learn, have fewer behavioural problems and are more likely to succeed in school. Even when they live apart, it’s still important for fathers to be available and stay connected to their children.
Dads also benefit from being involved with their children. They have an increased sense of well being, less stress, and develop closer relationships. Involved fathers are also more likely to take on community leadership roles. So when dads are involved everybody wins: children, fathers, families and communities.
Communities need to support fathers to be involved in children’s lives. A community can do this by creating workplace cultures that support a dad to take his parental time or providing flexible hours for a father to care for a sick child, a legal system that recognizes the importance of dads having access to their children, schools that include dads in student conferences, or malls that provide a change table in the men’s washroom or family change rooms.
For more information about fathering check www.cfii.ca. For information about what’s happening in your community for fathers, call Your Health Connection at 721-7520 or
1-877-721-7520 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday.
<< Back to MOH Columns
