Dads Matter to Daughters

“No true-hearted man will shirk his duty in this crusade for the children, a warfare as glorious, I think, as men ever waged on a field of battle.”

—Alice McLellan Birney, cofounder and first president of PTA,

at PTA’s third annual convention, February 1899

The idea that Dads are important role models for girls is not new as you can see from the quote from 1899!Still, today, there is documented evidence: 

Children benefit from their fathers’ involvement !

Involvement in schools and education is just one area you can document.Simply, girls with involved fathers tend to do better in school, have better grades, and are less likely to be expelled and/or repeat grades.(1) Involved fathers also help young children develop their math and verbal skills and develop their curiosity.(2)

Research by the National Center for Education Statistics indicates that this is true even when a child’s mother is already involved in the school. A father’s involvement “exerts a distinct and independent influence” on a child’s success in school.

What, then, are the benefits of father involvement?:

✼ Learn more.

✼ Perform better in school.

✼ Exhibit healthier behavior.

✼ Have fewer discipline problems.

✼ Are more likely to participate in extracurricular activities.

✼ Enjoy school more.*

Fathers who have positive relationships with their children can have positive effects on more than school. They also influence daughters' social and cognitive achievement and as well as their behavior. For young children, good fathering contributes to emotional development because fathers offer emotional security. 

As daughters grow, it's common for the distance between fathers and daughters also to grow. In many ways, Dads are their daughters' "first love." Whether the girl is a teenager or still very young, girls are forming ideas about what they might want in a boyfriend and husband some day, and Dads are the closest example and best reference. It's vital that we teach daughters to have high standards for men and show them what it feels like when a man cherishes them genuinely and for the right reasons. 

While there are clear benefits to the involvement of fathers, many barriers that prevent their involvement exisit. Some of the possible barriers to father involvement in children’s education, care, and support include the following:

• The attitudes and personal beliefs towards father involvement coming from mothers, teachers, caretakers, and child care/education staff and others involved in the child’s life who may be considered gate keepers to access their daughters.
• Family and/or cultural beliefs concerning male roles with girls
• Societal expectations and views of male involvement in children’s lives related to their care and support.
• The fathers’ educational level and/or work schedules.
• The fathers’ lack of knowledge about child development, parenting, and/or how to become an involved father.(3)

To support the involvement of fathers in the lives of all children and reduce some of the barriers mentioned previously, Federal and national organizations have developed and/or funded programs and initiatives that support and reflect the critical role that fathers play in building strong, successful families and the well-being of children.(4)Father involvement in early care/afterschool care programs focuses on providing opportunities designed to attract and engage fathers in the education and support of their children. These opportunities may focus on strengthening the father-child relationship by encouraging fathers to spend time in the classroom, participate in father-child activities- like reading to their children at home. Some groups work towards strengthening the fathers’ parenting skills by encouraging them to participate in relationship or parenting classes and/or sponsoring fatherhood workshops or discussion groups.

Dads Matter to Daughters initiative project focuses on strengthening the Dad/Daughter relationship by encouraging Dads & Daughters to engage each other actively in a fun comfortable environment. 

(1)U.S.Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Child Care Bureau. (2004).Promoting responsible fatherhood through child care. Retrieved November 17, 2010, from http://researchconnections.org/childcare/resources/4398/pdf;jsessionid=0F0A263730140D8F98F09356DC3E98EB

(2)Ibid.

(3)Green, S. (n.d.). Reaching out to fathers: An examination of staff efforts that lead to greater father involvement in early childhood programs. Retrieved November 17, 2010, from http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v5n2/green.html

(4)U.S.Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Child Care Bureau. (2004).Promoting responsible fatherhood through child care. Retrieved November 17, 2010, from http://researchconnections.org/childcare/resources/4398/pdf;jsessionid=0F0A263730140D8F98F09356DC3E98EB