Got boys? Then you’ll want to make sure daddy is highly involved, right from the get-go. A new study suggests that when a father is more actively engaged with his son during infancy, there is a lower risk of behavioural problems later in life.
The beneficial effect was, in fact, observed for both boys and girls—but the effect was strongest in boys. Interesting, no? The behavioural problems we’re talking about, here, included things like: difficulty making friends, poor school performance, and delinquent behaviour.
I have two sons. And a husband who is (mostly) a stay-at-home dad, so I count myself supremely lucky. Even still, I worry about my boys (what—a mother who worries? Weird.) and I’m interested in anything I can do to protect my boys. See, I have to confess: half the time I have no idea what goes through their little minds. I’m an unrepentant girly-girl and have firm roots in the female world. (I have 2 sisters. Yes, there will be a bathroom in heaven for my dad.) So this whole "raising boys" thing is foreign and, to be honest, a little terrifying for me. I dread the day when one of my boys comes home from school with a black eye. And contact sports? Not sure I’m going to be able to handle it.
I’ll be interested to see if further research supports the results of this study. I view it as a wonderful evolution in our society that fathers are playing a increasingly significant role in kid-raising. At school drop off, it seems like half the parents there are dads. Yay, dads!
So if you're with me, ladies, and you agree that dads are pretty important (in spite of their control issues over the TV remote er, quirks) and you want to keep that baby-daddy healthy...here's how.
Now, tell me...what’s the relationship between your kids and their dad?
(As a sidebar...looking for pictures of dads & babies for this post was one of the best parts of my week. A little like porn for mummies, I must admit...)
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