Another Reason Why Dads are Vital to Child Well-Being
Delaware Fatherhood and Family Coalition - Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Another Reason Why Dads are Vital to Child Well-Being
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Posted by Christopher A. Brown in the National Fatherhood Initiative Blog
When you help a dad to be more involved, responsible, and committed to his child, you help build that child's resilience.
Resilience is a critical factor in a child's ability to navigate life's challenges--to bounce back and thrive when life throws a child the inevitable curve ball.
As the video below shows, researchers on child development have determined that genetic and environmental factors play a role in how resilient a child is and can become. Some children are born with more resilience than others. Natural resilience helps explain why some children--even those related to one another and raised in the same home--differ in their ability to handle the stress imposed by their environment (e.g. poverty and child maltreatment).
But regardless of natural resilience, every child benefits from the outside supports they receive to build resilience.
There is no more important outside support for a child than a loving, caring relationship with their parents. When a child grows up without an involved, responsible, committed dad, they are at an environmental disadvantage. They are at risk for a host of poor outcomes that result from the stressful situations associated with a dad's absence (e.g. poverty and child maltreatment).
