The male figure has been recognized as the dominant one ever since the dawn of times. Males have always been the ones to go hunting, and bring food to the table, or to protect their tribes from perpetrators. Through the history of mankind, a father positioned himself as the person of authority, but of protection as well. How fathers today fit into this picture?
Gender roles have become a volatile category, especially in the Western part of the world. Women have taken over in many fields, and are successfully balancing the roles of mothers, wives, executives, entrepreneurs, housewives, etc. Psychology experts claim that great percentage of fathers experience lack of self-confidence and the sense of value at the moment of starting a family. They withdraw and let their female partners take control of their family lives.
However, it appears the world has never needed the fathers’ involvement as it does today. Namely, the experts claim that the presence of fathers influences the development of children significantly. The fields where this positive influence is mostly visible are emotional security, confidence, curiosity, and ability to form connections.
Playing with children is the most creative way to teach them something and to draw their hidden talents to the surface. The advantage of being a father is the fact that you can use your free time to relax with your kids, while mothers usually have many errands to run, although we are aware that it is always ungrateful to talk about these things in general, because there are a lot of single parents out there who are doing their best and combining both obligations and enjoyment, regardless of the gender.
Another important aspect of the presence of a father is that a child would be able to observe how males are thinking and resolving issues. The masculine principle, the yang, or whatever you wish to call it – is something that each child should observe, as it influences the formation of a child’s system of judgement and gives an opportunity for a child to see and decide whether that specific principle is close to his or her heart. Children are doing all this unconsciously. However, the impressions they receive are a long-term thing.
The importance of being a father was originally related to his role of a creator. He, who was one of the creators of a life has a duty to protect it and to shape it in the best possible way. However, things have thankfully changed significantly, and the fathers are not only the persons to whom we are linked through blood, but primarily by love.
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The father that most impacted my life is my husband… watching my husband of 17 years raise my children as if they were his own. My husband worked 12-16 hour days sometimes 6-7 days a week to take care of his instant family… and may i say he did it with heart, pride, a firm hand, and more love than if those two babies were his own… he was at every game, play, book fair, Christmas pageant, dr. appointment, etc….. and yet still managed to be the bread winner. My ex was a horrible, abusive man and has never seen his children (now 19 & 22) and my husband never missed a beat taking on his new role. We were not blessed with a child together, we tried and after the devastation of losing one at the insistence of our dr. I had a full hysterectomy so his chances of ever having one of his own were gone. And as the years have gone by (some faster than others) I realized what could have been… what kind of people my children would be today, what kind of husband and father my son would eventually come to be, what kind of husband my daughter would settle for if not for the man who not only saved me, but saved my children. Thank you Richard for all you have done for your family. Happy father’s day.