Contents
- Conception: the struggle for resources
- Pregnancy: risk reduction
- Childbirth: the presence of a man eases the pain
- Postpartum depression: a little-known risk
- From 1 to 3 years: the presence of the father reduces the aggressiveness of the child
- Early childhood: who teaches new words
- Adolescence: paternal smell
Many still consider the father “parent number 2”, giving the first place to the mother. In fact, his role in the life of a son or daughter is much more important than we imagine. Here are seven recent scientific discoveries regarding father influence. They affect all stages of a child’s development, from conception to adulthood.
Back in the 1970s, psychologists and educators believed that the role of the father in the development of the child was not so great. On the one hand, at that time they had not yet accumulated enough research to assert the opposite, and on the other hand, there were no data because no one was involved in the topic.
Today, the work of psychologists, biologists, sociologists and neurophysiologists studying paternity has appeared. In the book Do Fathers Matter? Science journalist Paul Raeburn lists seven remarkable discoveries that are changing the way we view parenting.
Conception: the struggle for resources
Harvard University biologist David Haig found that paternal and maternal genes behave differently in the embryo. Paternal genes cause the fetus to extract maximum nutrients and energy from the mother’s body, even to the detriment of her health. Maternal genes, on the contrary, try to limit the nutrition of the child in the womb, protecting the mother.
Babies whose fathers were close to their mothers during pregnancy were less likely to be born prematurely
Haig explains this by saying that maternal genes have a “very vested interest” in the survival and well-being of the mother, while paternal genes “want” their child to be given as much maternal strength and resources as possible.
Pregnancy: risk reduction
Until now, it was believed that during pregnancy, the father can not influence the child in any way. A recent study from the University of Florida found that this is not the case.
Children whose fathers were close to their mothers during pregnancy were less likely to be born prematurely or underweight. The risk of dying in the first year of life in these children was four times lower. Expectant mothers in the absence of the father of the child increased the risk of complications such as anemia and hypertension.
Childbirth: the presence of a man eases the pain
Studies show that if men are present in the delivery room, women report less pain and are less likely to require pain medication. They even cry less often.
In turn, men who were present at childbirth report greater attachment to their babies and are more actively involved in caring for them. As Raeburn writes, admitting fathers to labor wards “brought many positive results that no one expected.”
Postpartum depression: a little-known risk
Parental presence next to the baby in the first months of life is especially important – it largely determines his future fate. Moreover, both mother and father should be nearby.
If fathers helped care for the child, their sons and daughters had fewer behavior problems
If a father suffers from postpartum depression—one in ten men, according to Raeburn—this naturally makes it difficult to establish an emotional connection with the child. Children of fathers with severe postpartum depression are 8 times more likely to have behavioral problems and 36 times more likely to have problems with peers.
From 1 to 3 years: the presence of the father reduces the aggressiveness of the child
Researchers from the University of Oxford followed children from the first year of life. It turned out that children whose fathers paid little attention to them were more likely to show aggressive behavior in the future. And regardless of how much time their mothers devoted to them.
Swedish scientists summarized data from 24 studies on the role of father and mother in education. Findings: If fathers helped care for the child, played with it, took it on trips and on picnics, their sons and daughters had fewer behavioral problems in early and adolescence.
Early childhood: who teaches new words
In the development of speech, fathers definitely play a more important role than mothers. The researchers compared the role of parents in the development of speech in rural children from poor families. Six-month-old children to whom their father read regularly achieved noticeable expressiveness of speech by the age of 3 and used words from their father’s vocabulary more often than their mother’s. Moreover, this did not depend on the level of education of the mother and the characteristics of her oral communication with children.
The reason seems to be that mothers spend more time with their children and use words that the children know well, while fathers, less aware of the children’s current language abilities, use a wider vocabulary.
Adolescence: paternal smell
For years, evolutionary biologists have been puzzled by a mystery: Why do girls who grow up without a father reach puberty earlier and become more pregnant during adolescence?
Psychologist Sarah Hill from Texas Christian University believes that the absence of a father gives daughters a subliminal signal: men do not stay with women for a long time, so a woman needs to quickly find partners. Genes, in fact, push these girls to earlier puberty.
“I am glad to know that my presence helps children. But that’s not why I spend time with them.”
The source of this signal may be the smell of the father. In experiments with animals, it has been shown that constant exposure to paternal pheromones inhibits puberty.
However, many men will probably repeat after Raeburn (by the way, the father of five children): “I am glad to know that my presence helps children. But that’s not why I spend time with them. I just love them.”