Why Fathers are Important

This week we talked about finances in the family, but we also wrote a paper on the importance of fatherhood. Because there are so many General Conference talks on the subject, I have always known that fathers are important for the spiritual welfare of their children, but this chapter and writing assignment has really sparked my curiosity about how the secular world views the importance of fathers.

The first two points of this post come from Chapter 2 of the manual published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services called The Importance of Fathers in the Healthy Development of Children (Sounds like the perfect source for what I want to know, don't it?), and the last two come from Sister Elaine Dalton, former General Young Women President, as she gave her talk "Love Her Mother" (I'm really liking this link thing...can you tell?) in the October 2011 General Conference.

1. Having a father promotes cognitive ability. This is because their children have the advantage of learning both gender roles' forms of communication and are better equipped to handle the stresses that come with school and learning

2. Children with fathers are more confident and emotionally secure and have better social connections because the father is attentive. They explore more because they have learned from an early age that they can trust someone big and strong to be there when they need it.

3. Fathers push achievement and teach independence and self-control. This is actually done mostly through how fathers typically play with children. Unlike mothers, who have to watch over all the kids at once, fathers are more prone to one-on-one, stimulating forms of play that teach children how to handle physical stresses and to be independent

4. Fathers are an example to both sons and daughters of what men should (or should not) be. Sons will have someone to model themselves after. Daughters will have someone to compare men to when looking for a good spouse. My being the example of what a man should be, fathers teach their children how to be better.

5. Fathers are the priesthood leaders and the guardians of virtue in their homes.

I think we can conclude from this that fathers are needed not just for spiritual reasons, but for secular as well. Children need fathers, guys. I'm seen it first hand and now I have the studies and spiritual leaders to prove it.