The Changing Role of Fathers
Fathers Impact on Children's Social and Emotional
Development
What Can Early
Care Providers Do?Who Are the Fathers Who Have
Participated in Research in Their Area?Where
Do I Find More Information on Implementing This Practice?What Is the Scientific Basis for This Practice?
__________________________________________________________________________
This What Works Brief is part of a continuing series of
short, easy-to-read, "how to" information packets on a variety of
evidence-based practices, strategies, and intervention procedures.
The Briefs are designed to help teachers, parents, and other
caregivers support young children's social and emotional
development. They include examples and vignettes that illustrate how
practical strategies might be used in a variety of early childhood
settings and home environments.
Lenny Ramano is a first-time father of an extremely energetic
4-year-old son, Angelo Michael. Lenny's own father was not very
involved in his life, particularly his "school life," because Mr.
Ramano worked long hours and his job necessitated that he travel
often. Angelo Michael attends a Head Start program in the morning
and a community child care program each afternoon. He loves going
to school and talks about his teachers and friends frequently. He
typically brings home artwork and books from the early childhood
program, and at dinner, he shares stories of field trips and
activities that occur at school.
Lenny wants to become more
involved in his son's early childhood programs. He has tried on
several occasions to talk with the teachers about volunteering on
field trips, reading books to the class, or sharing his expertise
as a chef with the class, but t the teachers have not taken him up
on his offers . He feels as if the teachers mostly share concerns
and children's accomplishments with the mothers and do not really
want parents to be very involved, especially fathers. For example,
when the class was planning a field trip to the local planetarium,
Lenny asked about coming along to help out. He was politely
thanked for volunteering but told that there were plenty of adults
for the number of children. Another time, he stayed a bit longer
in the classroom when he dropped his son off, because Angelo
Michael was rather clingy and did not want his father to leave.
After about 10 minutes, a teacher moved close to where Lenny was
sitting (just outside the circle for group time) and told him that
she would take over now. He felt as if the teacher was suggesting
that it was time for him to leave. Although Lenny realizes that he
may be misreading things that the teachers say and do, he feels
frustrated with not being able to get more involved. His wife, on
the other hand, feels very welcome in the program and tells Lenny
that she has no trouble talking with the teachers. The teachers,
on hte other hand, believed that they were being welcoming to the
father by acknowleding his offers yet respecting his time and work
schedules.
The Changing Role of Fathers
Over the past 50 years, the role of fathers and father-figures
has changed dramatically. Early research centered on the role that
fathers played in their children's gender identity and children's
development. During the 1970s and 1980s, father involvement was
often based on a deficit model, focusing on families without fathers
present and the impact that father absence had on children's
development. In recent years, the focus has shifted to a
strengths-based approach, looking at the positive impact of father
involve-ment and contibutionto the the day-to-day care of young
children. Along with interest in the changing role of fathers, a
change in the definition of "father" also has emerged. Now the term
"father" is sometimes used more broadly to describe men who are
important in the life of a child. This broader definition is in no
way meant to undermine the importance of the role of the biological
father in the life of a child. Instead, it serves to highlight the
positive impact that men (e. g., grandfathers, uncles, and
stepfathers) can have on young children. What has remained constant
over time is the acknowledg-ment that parents, both mothers and
fathers, are children's first and primary teachers. Every parent has
a unique way of caring for and interacting with his or her child,
with mothers and fathers typically interacting with their children
in different ways. Although some fathers, like Lenny in the example
above, wish to become actively involved in their child's school
life, other fathers might not be as comfortable in this role. One
can imagine a continuum of fathers from those who do not choose to
be involved in their child's early care and education, to fathers
like Lenny who desire to be more involved, to other fathers who are
satisfied with their level of participation. Care must be taken to
determine the unique strengths, wishes, and concerns of each parent
as early care providers strive to bridge the gap between early
childhood settings and home.
Fathers Impact on Children's Social and
Emotional Development
There are several ways to conceptualize fathers' impact on
children. This Brief provides one way that emphasizes three areas to
consider when thinking about father involvement. These three areas
are discussed below. Some variations in programs and outcomes exist
because of differences in the cultural, demographic, and
socioeconomic backgrounds of the populations presented in the
research.
Engagement and Interaction
Many
factors affect the level of engagement and interaction between a
father and his child. Naturally, all fathers, like mothers, have
their own way of interacting with and nurturing their child.
Although play makes up the largest paternal engagement activity,
providing basic care activities, such as bathing and feeding their
child, comes in a close second. Over the past several decades,
researchers have shown that levels of father engagement have
significantly increased. Evidence shows that the quality of
interactions in a father-child relationship positively impacts the
cognitive, social, and moral development of young children. For
example, when a child experiences positive interactions through
play, reading a story, or singing a song, the bond between father
and child increases. Also, a father's attitudes toward his child,
his child's development, and the quality of these interactions are
crucial to the overall development of positive social and emotional
skills. Notably, the quality of father-child relationships also can
impact the relationships that children have with peers. Social
competence can be predicted to some extent by the quality of
emotions shown between a father and his child during play. Lenny is
a very social, outgoing father who frequently takes Angelo Michael
to events in the community. Like his father, Angelo Michael is
extremely social. He loves to play with peers and often can be found
in the middle of a large group of playmates.
Availability and
Accessibility
Availability and accessibility refer to both
physical and emotional presence. One can imagine a time when a young
child enters the kitchen where her dad is busy cooking something and
the child is told to find something to do and not bother the adult,
or a time when a young child attempts to tell her parent a story but
Dad is really "not there" as he watches his favorite television
program instead.
The amount of time that fathers are accessible and the time that
they actually spend with their child can be highly dependent on
factors such as work schedules and variations in child routines.
Recently, levels of availability and accessibility have increased as
fathers are becoming more and more involved in the lives of their
children. Fathers may have to be more creative when trying to find
ways to spend time with their child outside of the home. For
example, in our vignette, Lenny is willing to volunteer and help out
at school so that he is able to spend more time with Angelo
Michael.
Day-to-Day Care
Now more than ever,
fathers are taking an active role in the day-to-day care of their
children. This is an excellent time for social and emotional skills
to be developed. Fathers' responsibility for day-to-day care can be
measured in two ways. Direct care, or actual physical care for the
child, is measured in terms of the time fathers spend with their
sons and daughters doing things such as bathing, feeding, and
dressing children.
Indirect care includes things like arranging for child care,
schedul-ing play dates, and talking with teachers on the phone about
a child's experiences at school. In this way, fathers share
responsibil-ity for the other aspects of parenting, which are often
complex and require planning. For example, knowing that a child
needs to have vaccinations and a physical examination before school
begins, a father schedules the appointment early in the summer, or
realizing that summer camps fill up quickly in a community, he gets
an application completed in early spring. These are areas where
involved staff can assist fathers and mothers.
What Can Early Care Providers Do?
Despite our beliefs about the importance of involving fathers in
early care settings, fathers report receiving limited support from
social services and early childhood programs. Early care providers
should make a conscious effort to reach fathers in a manner that
acknowledges them as skilled and knowledgeable caregivers. In our
example, the teachers may feel that they welcome and support
fathers, yet it is clear that Lenny is not satisfied with the type
of support he is receiving in order to be more involved in Angelo
Michael's classroom settings.
It also is critical to remember that not only do fathers impact
the lives of their children, but also, children impact the lives of
their fathers. For example, teachers might notice that the father of
an overly shy child is cautious when bringing the child into new
situations or introducing the child to new people. Thus, the father
adapts his behavior to support his child's temperament.
Early care providers should realize that a father's willingness
and comfort when caring for his child on a day-to-day basis can
depend in part on the level of encouragement that he receives from
his spouse, as well as from other relatives, medical personnel, and
the child's teachers. Therefore, it is important to support and
encourage fathers like Lenny who are eager to try to take an active
role in their child's education. In the recent past, a great number
of local efforts have been undertaken to support fathers'
accessibility, engagement, and interaction with their children. For
example, some programs host father nights, playgroups, and support
groups. Since these programs are relatively new, little is known
about how they are structured and what impact they have on fathers'
behaviors. For those developing and implementing programs that
support father involvement, there is a significant need for
systematic evaluation efforts to determine what outcomes are being
achieved.
Programs need to be clear about why they are concerned about
reaching out to fathers and increasing father involvement. They need
to emphasize the unique contribution each parent makes to his or her
child, that is, what fathers do is sometimes different from what
mothers do, and both are important. In addition, as fatherhood
programs are created, it is critical that they be developed within a
clear framework that has the potential to explain or predict the
impact of the program. To develop this framework, early care staff
should first assess the needs of the fathers they serve. Early in
the year, ask fathers what the program can do to help, either
talking individually with fathers or at a parent meeting. Staff
should also ask if fathers are satisfied with the range of
involvement options available in the early childhood setting. As
staff develop and implement programs, they need to ensure that there
is a logical fit between the needs of the fathers (based on the
assessment) and the stated outcomes of the fatherhood program. For
example, programs should evaluate if they are helping fathers to
feel more comfort-able playing with their children, and if they help
fathers feel more confident in addressing their child's behavioral
issues. Finally, the framework should include a process of
evaluation that determines both the impact of the fatherhood
program, as well as ways to improve it. Without this process, it is
difficult to determine the effectiveness of fatherhood programs, and
it is difficult for the field to move beyond the current grassroots
orientation of these efforts.
Who Are the Fathers Who Have Participated in
Research in This Area?
Research on fatherhood and the involvement of fathers and
father-figures in early childhood programming has been conducted on
a broad sample of individuals. Culturally diverse fathers from a
variety of early childhood settings have participated in such
research. When designing programs or considering strategies to
support fathers in the development of their young children, the
importance of adapting strategies to meet the unique needs of
families cannot be overemphasized.
See the CSEFEL Web site (http://www.vanderbilt.edu/csefel)
for additional resources. We welcome your feedback on this What
Works Brief. Please go to the CSEFEL Web site (http://www.vanderbilt.edu/csefel)
or call us at 1-866-433-1966 (toll free) to offer
suggestions.
Where Do I Find More Information on
Implementing This Practice?
See the CSEFEL Web site (http://www.vanderbilt.edu/csefel)
for additional resources.
Practical information on
including fathers can also be found on the following Web sites and
in these books:
- National Fatherhood Initiative: http://www.fatherhood.org
- The Fathers Network: http://fathersnetwork.org
- The Center for Successful Fathering: http://www.fathering.org
- The Fatherhood Project: http://www.fatherhoodproject.org
- U. S. Department of Health and Human Services Fatherhood
Initiative: http://fatherhood.hhs.gov/index.shtml
- Fagan, J., & Palm, G. (2004). Fathers and early
childhood programs. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar Learning.
- Horn, W. F., & Rosenberg, J. (1998). New father book:
What every new father needs to know to be a good dad. Des
Moines, IA: Better Homes and Gardens Books.
- Levine, J. A., Murphy, D. T., & Wilson, S. (1994).
Getting men involved: Strategies for early childhood programs.
New York: Scholastic.
What Is the Scientific Basis for This
Practice?
For those wishing to explore the topic
further, the following resources might prove useful:
- Cabrera, N. J., Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., Bradley, R. H.,
Hofferth, S., & Lamb, M. E. (2000). Fatherhood in the
twenty-first century. Child Development, 71(1), 127-136.
- McBride, B. A., & Lutz, M. M. (2004). Intervention:
Changing the nature and extent of father involvement. In M. E.
Lamb (Ed.), The role of the father in child development
(4th ed., pp. 446-475). New York: Wiley.
- McBride, B. A., Rane, T. R., & Bae, J. (2001). Intervening
with teachers to encourage father/ male involvement in early
childhood programs. Early Childhood Research Quarterly,
16(1), 77-93.
- Parke, R. D., Dennis, J., Flyr, M. L., Morris, K. L., Killian,
C., McDowell, D. J., & Wild, M. (2004). Fathering and
children's peer relationships. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.), The role
of the father in child development (4th ed., pp. 307-340).
New York: Wiley.
- Pleck, J. H., & Masciadrelli, B. P. (2004). Paternal
involvement by U. S. residential fathers: Levels, sources, and
consequences. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.), The role of the father in
child development (4th ed., pp. 222-271). New York: Wiley. 4.
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This material was developed by the Center on
the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning with
federal funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, Administration for Children and Families
(Cooperative Agreement N. PHS 90YD0119). The contents of this
publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies
of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, nor does
mention of trade names, commercial projects, or organizations
imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. You may reproduce
this material for training and information purposes. The
authors wish to acknowledge Larry S. Joireman for the
illustrations.
We welcome your feedback on this What Works
Brief. Please go to the CSEFEL Web site (http://www.vanderbilt.edu/csefel)
or call us at 1-866-433-1966 (toll free) to offer
suggestions. |
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Fathers and
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