June 18th is Father’s Day. Its origins as a holiday are traced to Sonora Smart Dodd, who was raised by a widower and wanted to honor fathers in the same way that mothers are honored on Mother’s Day. She went to local service organizations and churches for support and got the state of Washington to declare the holiday in 1910. Slowly, it spread to other states. During World War II, the holiday became one way to support troops, many of whom were fathers. 1972 President Nixon signed a declaration declaring Father’s Day a holiday. Since then, the third Sunday in June brings the celebration of fathers. Other than being the designated griller in many families, fathers do a lot for their children and their families that may go unrecognized.
A father’s influence starts early
A father’s involvement during the mother’s pregnancy brings about positive health outcomes for the child, mother, and father. Research supports that mothers and fathers attending ultrasound appointments together strengthened their relationship, and mothers reported that the father’s presence was the most soothing, reassuring, and supportive during the pregnancy.
Fatherhood also changes fathers’ brains. Fathers show more oxytocin, a hormone associated with feelings of caring and belonging, and lower testosterone, reducing the likelihood of aggressive tendencies compared to non-fathers. In addition, fathers’ brains are more active compared to non-fathers in areas known for face emotion processing and reward processing. Their brains change to help them understand what their kids are feeling and how much they are rewarded for that experience of understanding.
Fathers make a difference
Dads have a significant impact on their children’s well-being. Research shows that when fathers are involved in core family activities like eating dinner, playing sports, or playing video games, families report experiencing more closeness, adaptability to change, and feeling that their families are more supportive. When fathers have high-quality interactions with their toddlers, their children demonstrate more social skills in third grade. Teenagers who report close relationships with their fathers are less likely to engage in risky behaviors like drinking and risky sexual behaviors. For teenagers, even if the dad is not in the home but they maintain a close relationship, they are less likely to engage in delinquent behaviors.
Different but complementary parenting
Fathers promote more physical play and exploratory behaviors in families with young children than mothers. At the same time, fathers are more likely to support that minor injuries “toughen up” a child and allow them to learn from mistakes. But, fathers still supervise their daughters more during play, while mothers supervise sons and daughters the same. In another study of tweens, when it comes to sexuality, boys feel more comfortable talking to their fathers than girls. And boys discuss a greater range of sexual topics with their fathers than girls with their mothers.
Benefits to the father
One study found that fathers of preschool-aged children who are involved in the care of their children had lower rates of depression than those with less involvement. Becoming a father is related to positive work outcomes like increased wages and greater work efforts. Some research indicates that fathers live longer compared to men who are childless.
Nowadays, many dads don’t get the recognition they deserve. Research is consistent that dads impact kids and families differently than moms. In many families, there are visible things that dads do–like fixing things, killing bugs, or taking out the garbage–but there are those unseen things that they do just by being there and being the people they are that make the family stronger. So, it is time to say thank you on this third Sunday in June.
For me, becoming a father changed me. I entered into a world of parenthood that brought so many joys (and so many frustrations). Those frustrations generally get resolved with a smile and a shout of “Daddy!” from my daughter. Like many fathers, it is hard to imagine my life without the role of dad since it is now so much a part of me. So, to my fellow dads, Happy Father’s Day!
Robert (Rob) S. Weisskirch, MSW, Ph.D., CFLE, is a Professor of Human Development at California State University, Monterey Bay, and a Certified Family Life Educator. He and his wife are parents to a chatty, elementary school-aged daughter and reside in Marina.