Fatherhood

Fatherhood

Introduction

The meanings of parenthood are multiple, heterogeneous and sometimes contradictory, not only socially but in the experience of each subject. A father is supposed to be dominant in his family and yet remains very gentle with his children. He will inadvertently give his child an example of people whom they might eventually come in contact with. Even if a father is absent from his child's life, the child will subconsciously attract himself to a person he loves the most. This point is not definite and there are exceptions to the rule, but sadly this is the reality of this particular relationship. A father can have an everlasting impact on his children.

Just as mothers will forever represent the kind of woman that their daughters strive to become, fathers are the mold that young women base their attractions on. The positive and negative qualities that a father demonstrates to his child will be the same qualities that that young lady seeks out in her companions and friends. Although, there are some young women who force themselves to realize all the negative things that they don't tolerate, oftentimes women fall prey to the characteristics they first observed from their fathers (Habib, 2006).

Yet if the role of fatherhood is being redefined, it is not clear that men themselves have kept pace with the new demands now being made of them. In the demand for new intimate and caring family ties, men have become “laggards” in the shift towards more egalitarian relationships. Such a situation has meant that traditional forms of masculinity (and fathering) continue to exist, as a backlash in the face of the demand for more equal relations, mainly coming from women.

Discussion

Fatherhood, like most social roles, varies across times and cultures. Dramatic changes can be documented in the United States in just the past couple centuries. Most notable of these transitions accompanied industrialization. This period of time, and the social and economic changes that took place during it, had an enormous influence on the institution of the family. Beyond being the primary breadwinner, however, fathers do have other purposes in the family, and these have become increasingly recognized. Children with fathers who are actively involved are much better off on a variety of indicators. For example, research on the effect of divorce and mother-headed single-parent families on children's development show many negative effects, such as increased rates of dropping out of high school and increased rates of teen pregnancy. In contrast, children with fathers who remain involved after divorce have better grades, higher education levels, stronger work ethics, more stable jobs, higher incomes, closer friendships, more stable marriages, fewer premarital births, stronger moral consciences, better health, and higher levels of life satisfaction (Knoester, 2001).

Trust and understanding in the relationship of father and son are laid at an early age. If the father from the first days of life the child is actively involved in caring for him, plays with him and talking, it creates an important psychological link between ...