Fathers Make A Difference

According to the 2022 U.S. Census Bureau, 18.4 million children, 1 in 4, live without a biological, step, or adoptive father in the home. That’s enough children to fill New York City twice or Los Angeles four times over. Research shows that a father's absence affects children in numerous unfortunate ways, while a father's presence makes a positive difference in the lives of both children and mothers.

Here is just one example of how fathers make a difference in the home – “Recent decades have seen increases in fathers’ participation in a variety of activities with their children, including shared book reading. Although some fathers and mothers tend to read books with their children in similar ways, research has shown that Dads interact with their children differently than mothers while reading with their children (Cutler & Palkovitz, 2020). Specifically, fathers ask children more open-ended questions (who, why) – a practice that challenges children’s thinking and expands their language skills (Rowe et al., 2004). Dads also engage in more conversationally challenging interactions with their children during shared book reading than do mothers (Anderson et al., 2004; Tomasello et al., 1990). Physical interactions also differ during reading. Recent research has shown that fathers are more likely than mothers to engage in close, interlocking contact while reading with their children, a behavior that helps promote a positive reading experience between parents and children (Cutler, 2020).” https://childandfamilyblog.com/reading-with-dad/

I got that from a resource that has worked to increase the involvement of fathers in the home – The National Fatherhood Initiative. They have a program called 24/7 Dad that I believe could change the spiritual landscape of any community in a couple of generations! https://www.fatherhood.org/