Today is Father’s Day, so here’s a friendly reminder of just how important the presence of an engaged, involved father is in the life of a child.

According to the abundant research that has been done on fathering…

• Kids with engaged fathers do better in school, are less likely to do drugs, wait longer to have sex, and are less likely to be sexually abused.
• Boys with a father in their lives tend to develop better social skills and empathy than boys without a father in their lives.
• Children who live absent their biological fathers are, on average, at least two to three times more likely to be poor, to use drugs, to experience educational, health, emotional and behavioral problems, to be victims of child abuse, and to engage in criminal behavior.
• Fathers generally have as much or more impact as mothers do in the following areas of their daughters’ lives: achieving academic and career success, creating a loving, trusting relationship with a man, dealing well with people in authority, being self-confident and self-reliant, being willing to try new things and to accept challenges, maintaining good mental health, expressing anger appropriately.
• Teenagers who feel close to their fathers in adolescence go on to have better marriages.

The research is clear – fathers matter!

So, if you are father, grandfather, or father-figure to someone, take your role seriously and purposefully because your presence truly shapes the lives of generations.

Happy Father’s Day!