An Involved Father Is Priceless

In recent times, the practice of fatherhood is changing. More and more men are carrying out their role with real involvement and commitment.

Traditionally, parenting was a woman’s job. It was the mother who was expected to take care of children, to accompany them and to foster their physical and emotional development. Fortunately, more and more men are deciding to exercise fatherhood with real commitment. And this translates, naturally, into healthier and happier children, as an involved father is priceless.

This is in no way an ode to male parents who decide to be present fathers. In the end, they’re doing nothing more than what’s intrinsically their role. The same way that mothers have been doing generation after generation.

However, it’s necessary to emphasize how beneficial it is for children to have the love, attention and unconditional support of both the people who brought them into the world.

Parenthood is transforming

We’ve all witnessed how, in the past, it was absolutely normalized for men to be the providers and for women to be the caregivers. Family roles were perfectly defined and outlined. The father’s tasks didn’t include helping his children with their homework, bathing them or reading them a bedtime story. And, of course, it was unimaginable for him to participate in the daily life and emotional development of his offspring.

The father used to be an absent, distant and authoritarian figure. The one who provided the money and imposed discipline, but rarely offered a continuous and affectionate presence to his children.

Recent generations of fathers are a hopeful example of how this dynamic is starting to change. More and more men are taking responsibility and are enthusiastically embracing their role in their children’s growth.

Even so, there’s still a long way to go before sharing household and parenting tasks equally between both partners. Many men consider that everything’s going well because they “help out at home.” Or because they’re the ones who take their child to school. However, the definition of an involved father goes much further.

What’s an involved father?

An involved father is one who is fully aware that his job isn’t to help, neither at home nor in the education of his children, as he has the same responsibility as his partner. He’s the one who strives every day to establish a meaningful bond with his little ones, to let them know that he’s by their side to listen, guide and support them.

He’s a man who enjoys spending time with his children, chatting with them, getting to know their likes and dislikes and fears. The one who wants to know how they’re doing at school, who their friends are and how they’re progressing in their extracurricular activities.

An involved father helps every afternoon with the homework. Also, he collaborates with the little ones in choosing their costume for carnival, prepares snacks and sits on the carpet to play with the little ones.

And he does all these things with pleasure and out of love. It’s not necessary for anyone to insist for him to participate in his children’s lives. His actions arise from the desire to accompany them in their growth and to enjoy being with them.

Moreover, an involved father understands that fatherhood requires time, effort, sacrifices and responsibilities. But, even so, he sees it as a gift.

An involved father is priceless

Children who are fortunate enough to grow up with a father like that enjoy better psychological and emotional health. They develop strong self-esteem and establish social relationships with ease and confidence. They’re children who feel loved, accepted and accompanied, and there’s no greater gift than a childhood like this.

Clearly, the mother’s role is equally important. For children, their parents are the two most important people in the world, their greatest points of reference.

Therefore, receiving the love, presence and involvement of both of them leaves a positive imprint in their souls that will accompany them for the rest of their lives. Finally, growing up with a distant or emotionally absent father can generate serious deficiencies in the child. Later on, this child could feel insecurity, unhappiness and need for approval.