Men's Health

Fathers

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A father's presence is as important to a child's healthy development as is the mother's, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Fathers play an important role in many areas of their children's lives:

• Research has shown that children who have a father or a father figure who is actively involved in their lives do better in school, get in less trouble, and attain higher levels of education and economic success.

• A father's behavior has a major impact on his child's behavior. The less time fathers live with their children, the more behavioral problems their children may display.

• During their school-age years, fathers are important to both boys and girls in terms of sex-role identity — especially for boys who identify more with their fathers than their mothers. And, although many children say they consider their fathers to be stricter than their mothers, they also appear to respond more readily to the system of "rewards and punishments" that fathers tend to use.
  

Current as of June 2007