Q: How can I make those early years of my kids’ lives count as a dad?
A: The month of June and Father’s Day offer a meaningful opportunity to celebrate and recognize dads and father figures: the men who show up, support and shape our children’s earliest years. It’s also an opportunity to consider what it means to be a father or father figure, and how to impact children in the most positive way.
A father’s involvement during the first five years of a child’s life has a lifelong impact on the child’s emotional well-being, self-esteem, health and early learning. Research links engaged fatherhood to improved physical health outcomes, stronger social skills, greater resilience and higher academic achievement for children.
While we are seeing a significant shift towards increased father engagement, dads might not know where to start. Today’s dads are experiencing fatherhood very differently from previous generations, as the role of being a father continues to evolve and family structures and societal norms change and grow.
