Hallelujah! Dad's Get Some Credit

Being a dad is tough in the sense that you get singled out as the idontknowshitaboutkidsbutimfun parent. Being the single dad means the now I HAVE to know shit about raising a kid and ALSO being the fun parent.

I read a bunch of blogs about kids and parenting and have found that they always assume its the mom's duty. Check out the article below from Strollerderby... I feel a little vindicated now...phew...


Dads Matter, Even For Baboons
from Strollerderby by AmyinMotown

A recent review by Swedish researchers of 20 years of data on father-child relationships bears out an idea that should surprise none of us: Dads matter.

Specifically, having an active, positively involved father reduces behavior problems in boys and psychological problems in girls. And it has a significant effect on reducing criminal behavior in kids from low-income families and improves intelligence, reasoning and language development.

Why, it's like dads are breastmilk!

"For example, we found various studies that showed that children who had positively involved father figures were less likely to smoke and get into trouble with the police, achieved better levels of education and developed good friendships with children of both sexes," says Dr. Anna Sarkadi from the Department of Women's and Children's Health at Uppsala University, Sweden.

"Long-term benefits included women who had better relationships with partners and a greater sense of mental and physical well-being at the age of 33 if they had a good relationship with their father at 16."

And hell, the benefits apparently hold true for baboons as well.

The researchers are calling on healthcare professionals to encourage and welcome more engagement from fathers, and on policymakers to set policy that makes it easier for dads to be involved.

It seems like a no-brainer, but I know that sometimes people focus on my role as mother and kind of dismiss that tall guy standing next to me who knows our kid as well as I do. Lots of the networking that goes on among parents tends to be mother-focused. A little more dad love would be good for everybody, methinks.