Fathers and Parenting
Fathers and Parenting
By the time a child is eight weeks old it begins to be able to distinguish the difference between their mother and their father. Men and women tend to parent differently. A strong presence of a father is beneficial for a child in many ways for both girls and boys. This strong involvement of a father has benefits from when a child is a toddler all the way until the child becomes an adult. When bad behavior happens with your child there are certain steps that can be taken to correct this behavior.
How Men Parent Differently Than Females
(Why Kids Need Their Dads/The Involved Father)
Fathers encourage competition, independence and achievement. Fathers encourage children to take risks. Things from encouraging their kids to learn to walk to riding their bike. Women are often more of a protector of their children and often feel their children might get hurt. They will flinch if the child falls when learning to walk or if they fall off their bike while learning to ride. A mother’s response to a child falling off a bike would be to cuddle and nurture the child. The father would tell them they are ok and encourage them to get up and try again. Fathers also encourage children to overcome obstacles such as talking to strangers or learning to swim in the deep in of the pool. A mother would expect the worst and not want their children in the deep in, but to learn sometimes the kids need to just jump in and do it. Fathers tend to be bigger protectors of their children when it comes to predators and bad influences. A man will not be shy to quiz a young boy who has come to take his daughter out for a date. Fathers are also more willing to discipline their children. Mothers are often soft hearted and sometimes don’t want to upset their children and see them sad. Men however are able to confront their children and enforce the discipline that their children need. Fathers do not sugar coat any situation. They tell the child like it is. They have no problem telling them that if they do not do well in school, then they will have a hard time getting into college and doing well in life. Women do not like telling their children how their failures would affect them.
Benefits of a Fathers Presence
(The Involved Father/Why Dad’s Parenting Techniques Can Be Better)
There are many benefits to having a strong presence of a father in a child’s life. Children with involved fathers are more sociable. Children tend to be more ready to start school and deal better with being away from home all day. They also tend to do better in school and are less likely to repeat grades and show behavioral problems at school. Girls that have a strong relationship with their father tends to have higher self-esteem. Teenage girls with a strong father daughter relationship are also less likely to get pregnant. As girls grow and mature into women they are more likely to have successful relationships when they had a close relationship with their father growing up. Boys who have a strong relationship with their father show less aggression and also have higher self-esteem. They tend to be less violent when they grow up having a father around. Activities that fathers can do to be more involved with their children include things such as eating dinner together, watching television, playing games outside or inside and even videos. Other activities such as taking trips together are also beneficial.
Steps for Correcting Bad Behavior
(4 Steps to Change Child Behavior, Empowering Parents)
Even with a fathers presence children tend to have some bad behaviors that need correcting. To be successful there are steps that one can take to ensure that the issues get resolved. The first step in correcting bad behaviors is to define the issue. This could be anything from the child not cleaning their room or doing their homework, to not coming home when they were supposed to. When you define the issue you need to discuss the problem with your child and explain to them why it needs to be corrected. The next step in correcting bad behavior is to plan a goal. To do so you should explain to your child the changes that need to be made. Tell them what is expected of them. Maybe they need to have their homework done by a certain time or that their room so be picked up before they go to bed each night. Nothing is worse than dirty clothes all over the floor. When you plan this goal you need to be as specific as you can with your child. If it is something specific that you expect of them, then you should tell them. Don’t assume that they know every single thing that you expect of them. The final step that you need to do when correcting bad behavior is to create steps toward the goal. Your expectations that you have for your child should not only be specific, but they should also be measurable, realistic and time efficient. You shouldn’t expect them to be able to accomplish something if they do not have the time to do so, so it is important to review all these expectations.
Conclusion
While in every child’s case a father is not often present, but when a father is in the picture it is important for the child to have a strong relationship with their father. There are many benefits from having a close relationship with a father that will carry from infancy all the way to adulthood. Also sometimes a child needs discipline and there are certain steps to be followed to correct the problem in a realistic time setting.