Father Involvement

SO... this week (due to Thanksgiving) I actually am not able to make it to the class discussion we do have on Tuesday. Because of that, I did my own research on the class topic, and the main topic- out of all of the points we were to study- that I found most interesting and intriguing was the one on Father Involvement in the family.
Often times, I personally think that we take advantage of our fathers and the benefits that come with having a dad present in the home. If this is not your personal case, and you have either never met your father before, or maybe he's just not an actively involved participant in your home, then I know you have different experiences and a relationship with your father than I have with mine.
Now, I am definitely a daddy's girl. Growing up, my mom actually got really frustrated with me probably, because I never wanted to do "girly" things with her like get our nails done all the time, or go shopping. Instead, I much rather preferred to go to work with my dad and hang out with him. Looking back, I regret not showing my love and appreciation to her by not allowing her to take me on fun activities or shopping trips. But, I also realize how important a father's influence is on his family and entire home.
First off, when we think of the job of "dad", what do we usually think of first? Most of you probably said that his "job" is to do just that... work a job that can support his family. Father's do benefit the family in many ways- one familiar one is to work and be the main source of income for the family's finances. He is to provide a home for the family to grow up securely in, as well as the food to place on the table at the end of the day. Financial situations are very trick, and often bad financial situations they are the source for many divorces and falling apart of family, because it is expected- generally speaking- that the dad fulfills his job and responsibility of being the one to provide his family with the necessities that they need to sustain a life.

However, besides the obvious benefit that a father brings into a home for financial reasons, there are many other benefits that I found while researching for a "Father Involvement" paper we had to write for class. While researching, I came across a very well-written scholarly article from the University of Florida.( It can be found on cfuf.org/Filestream.aspx?FilelD=14 if you'd like to take a look for yourself :) )
There were many points given in the article that have been found through extensive research done on the family, but there were a few that particularly stood out to me that I want to share:
1. A father's interaction with their baby led to a reduced risk for that infant's cognitive delay later on in life
2.When a father is positively involved in their child's life, it led to less behavioral problems in boys & better emotional health for girls
3. Both men and women who remember having involved dad's grew up with better self-esteem and confidence
4. Children who grew up with actively involved fathers wanted to implement those actively-involved qualities into their own future families
5. Active father involvement actually directly benefited the father as well-- they were found to be better able to cope with stressful times and decisions than were non-involved fathers.

The research is clear: There are many benefits that come with having an actively-involved father in the home. There is not only benefits for the children and mothers around that actively- involved father/husband; yet, there are many ways in which the father is directly benefited as well by his actions of being actively involved in his child's and wife's lives.