PARENTS AND TEENS: WELCOME TO MY WORLD

BACKGROUND

HOW IMPORTANT ARE FATHERS?

Fathers who are involved with their children's upbringing can have a positive impact, right from babyhood. Research indicates that where fathers play an active role in the family, their partners are more likely to breastfeed successfully and less likely to suffer from post-natal depression, while their children tend to be more successful at school and run less risk of having a criminal record at 21.

Dads can do all the caring and nurturing jobs that mums do, as well as playing with their kids, reading to them, talking to them and generally taking an active interest in them. Children value the time their dads spend doing things with them such as playing football, chatting, and helping with homework far more than they care about exotic holidays or expensive presents. More than half the kids in the UK, according to one survey, would like their fathers to spend more time with them, just sharing everyday activities.

Involved fathers enrich their children's lives, as long as they give a positive role model. Dads can help teens to develop a strong sense of their own identity and can support them so that it's easier for them to ignore peer pressure to misbehave. A father who spends time with his kids can balance the mum's style of parenting, and offer a different perspective.

Unfortunately, it's not always possible for dads to be part of the family. In situations where the family is still together, but the father is often absent for work or other reasons, there are persuasive arguments in support of his making lifestyle changes so as to be able to give his kids, whether teens or younger, more of his support and input right through childhood.

For more information about the role of fathers in families, see Find out more.