Sometimes, conventional wisdom handed down since the dawn of time is laughed off as irrelevant. C.S. Lewis and his friend Owen Barfield used the term “chronological snobbery” to mean that people who live now often think they are inherently wiser or smarter than their ancestors who lived in the past simply because time has passed.
Sadly, this has been the case in the endless redefinition and deconstruction of family. And one of the most profound problems has been that of diminishing the importance of fathers in the life of the family. This is a great tragedy, because in the role of fathers we have the delightful confluence of traditional, biblical wisdom with evidence from the social sciences. The result is an even more solid confirmation that dads matter.
Social science research shows that kids with involved dads benefit in many ways. They are typically better off financially. They attain higher levels of education. They feel more confident and are more willing to explore new things. An involved father also makes criminal behavior less likely, as well as drug use and premarital sexual activity. (In an era of skyrocketing drug abuse, teen pregnancy and deadly STDs, those two factors alone are enormous benefits to the children of engaged fathers.)
As if we need another reason to prove the health benefits of involved fathers, children with loving dads in their lives are less likely to experience physical or sexual abuse. That old-fashioned “Neanderthal” idea that dad is a protector turns out to be pretty accurate and important. Furthermore, married moms experience less domestic violence than single moms.
In addition to all of this good news, dads benefit as well. I speak from experience when I say that some of my times of greatest physical fitness and emotional health have come from spending lavish amounts of time with my children. If a father has small children and is willing to really play, he almost can’t avoid being physically fit. Over the years I have run, wrestled, climbed, biked, swam, jumped and tickled my little ones until all of us could barely keep our eyes open. But it isn’t just anecdote. Engaged fathers, it turns out, also have better mental health, with less depression and perceived stress.
While all too many people would have us believe that fathers are of little to no consequence, it’s clear that fathers, and fatherhood, matter. And what better time to remember that than this month for Father’s Day!
So enjoy your day, dads! And remember: You matter more than you can imagine.
A few interesting links:
http://familyfacts.org/briefs/6/benefits-of-family-for-children-and-adults
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-long-reach-childhood/201106/the-importance-fathers
http://www.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2013/june/6%205%20FathersDay.php