Resilience and respect foster self-worth in children, leading to fatherhood discovery.

EXCLUSIVE: The Impact of Fathers on Children’s Lives

Fathers present in their children’s lives teach them how to be resilient, respectful, and interact with the world around them, according to a University of Virginia sociologist.

Fathers have more to offer their children and families than simply financial stability, W. Bradford Wilcox, who is also a senior fellow at the Institute for Family Studies, told the Washington Examiner.

The Dynamic Role of Fathers

The role of fathers in the home is much more dynamic than the stereotypical view of them simply being the breadwinner. Wilcox said the financial component for fathers is extremely important as well because they open opportunities for education, sports, tutoring, and having a decent home in which to live.

“We’re learning a lot more about the ways in which dads play a constructive role in their kids’ lives,” he said. “It’s not simply financial.”

Fathers treat their children differently than mothers do, from play to discipline, offering their children a well-rounded experience of care and accountability.

Wilcox explained fathers are more likely to engage in “rough-and-tumble” play with their children, which helps children learn how to control their bodies and become more socially adept. Research, for example, suggests children who experience roughhousing are more popular in school.

Similar research also shows children who engage in play with their fathers are typically more assertive and confident, have higher self-esteem, and are better at standing up for themselves and resolving conflict.

“Dads tend to challenge their kids more than moms,” Wilcox continued. “They’re more likely to push them out of the nest and have them embrace difficult things, risks, to expose them to the world of politics and civil society.”

“That’s valuable for the kids in terms of fostering a sense of independence and autonomy, self-worth as an independent person,” he continued.

While mothers discipline their children more often than fathers do, the style of discipline gives children different perspectives on justice, emotional responses, and order.

Because fathers are more likely to be “sticklers for family rules” and not as willing as mothers to alter them based on the emotional state of their child, children who experience both kinds of discipline, particularly boys, are less likely to participate in delinquent behavior and more likely to reach financial success.

Wilcox said these kinds of constructive influences from fatherhood are reflected in the community, with communities with higher rates of present fathers having lower crime rates and higher rates of economic mobility.

Boys “raised at home with a responsible father” are presented with a model of “what it means to be a man,” Wilcox explained.

“Present fathers are more likely to demand things of their sons that are constructive, whether it’s mowing the lawn Saturday or getting your homework done on Thursday night, and that’s going to keep him out of trouble,” Wilcox said, adding that those sorts of expectations will also “hopefully” result in a young man spending less time on a smartphone and running into negative models for manhood that can be found online.

Daughters also gain an understanding of masculinity as a “protective” barrier against men they would meet in the future.

“Girls who have a good relationship with their father are less likely to be sexually active as teenagers, are less likely to have a teenage pregnancy,” Wilcox explained. “Getting your father’s attention and affection is sort of like a protective factor against succumbing to the attentions of a teenage boy, young man who doesn’t have your best interests at heart.”

According to Dr. Linda Neilsen, a professor of education at Wake Forest University who focuses on father-daughter relationships, daughters with actively engaged fathers are more likely to find educational, financial, and romantic success.

A “well-fathered daughter is also the most likely to have relationships with men that are emotionally intimate and fulfilling.”

Encouraging Fatherhood

Given the benefits fathers provide to their children, many elected leaders are looking at ways to encourage active, present fathers through public policy.

Last year, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed legislation to fund $70 million in educational programs, mentorship programs, and other support systems to encourage fatherhood.

Earlier this year, Florida selected Family First, a national nonprofit group with the All Pro Dad fatherhood program, to implement some of the funds.

Family First President and founder Mark Merrill told the Washington Examiner his organization plans to use the funding in two ways, which he referred to as an “air attack” and a “ground attack.”

Merrill said American culture has been victim to “several generations” of fatherlessness, which compounds the issue.

The “air attack” is a “massive media campaign” to raise awareness about how important present fatherhood is and “being in their children’s lives physically and emotionally.” The primary message to fathers is: “You’re exactly the dad your kids need.”

The “ground attack” is targeting community-based organizations that already work in the fatherhood space to raise awareness for fathers who are looking for resources “to really be engaged in their kids’ lives and give them the tools they need to do just that.”

“Any little girl out there would tell you that they want a dad, a hero, to love them, and cherish them, and honor them,” Merrill said. “And every young man out there would say they want a real dad to love them and lead them as well, and to show them what it means to be a man who is honorable, a man who contributes to his own family in the future, and contributes to his community as well.”

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