Emotionally-Involved Dads More Likely To Raise Kids With Fewer Behavioural Problems, Research Suggests | HuffPost Life

‘Positive parenting by fathers may contribute to good outcomes in children.’

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Life editor at HuffPost UK

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Dads who are emotionally involved with their children and feel confident as a parent are less likely to raise kids with behavioural problems, research suggests.

A study by Oxford University found that a dad’s emotional attachment and strong bond with a child had a stronger effect on whether the child suffered problems, than how much childcare they carried out.

Dads who scored highly on these factors had kids who were up to 28% less likely to suffer behavioural problems in their pre-teens than fathers who scored lower.

“The findings suggest it is psychological and emotional aspects of paternal involvement that are most powerful in influencing later child behaviour and not the amount of time that fathers are engaged in childcare or domestic tasks in the household,” concluded the researchers, writing in the journal BMJ Open, according to PA.

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Data was taken from the long-running Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children in south west England.

The parents of 10,440 children living with their mum and dad at the age of eight months were asked to complete a questionnaire about their and their child’s mental health, their attitudes to parenting, time spent on childcare, child behaviour and development.

Experts looked at markers of involvement such as, dads being confident with their child, forming a strong bond, feeling fulfilled and parenthood making them feel closer to their partner.

Data was also available for more than 6,000 children when they were aged nine and 11.

The researchers said, according to PA: “Positive parenting by fathers may contribute to good outcomes in children in a number of ways.

“Involved fathers may influence children indirectly by being a source of instrumental and emotional support to mothers who provide more of the direct care for children.

“The potential positive effect of this on mothers’ wellbeing and parenting strategies may then lead to better outcomes in children.

“Greater paternal involvement may also lead to or be a manifestation of a happy and cohesive family, and this may bring about better outcomes in children.”

Commenting on the study, parenting blogger Henry Elliss, 37, who is dad to Robert, eight, and Frederic, five, told The Huffington Post UK he is very pleased to find a study that validates involved parenting.

“As an advocate of involved parenting myself, this study validates what I’ve long suspected - that a father’s input into a child’s upbringing has a positive and long-term impact,” he said.

“We all know how much children learn from our own behaviour and attitude (whether we realise it or not), so relaxed and confident dads will not only find parenting less stressful, they’ll also be acting as great role models for children.”

Elliss said he tries to make sure that the time he spends with his kids is as rich and uplifting as possible.

“Life is short and childhood is even shorter, so you have to cherish this time and try to add as much love into their lives as possible,” he added.

Before You Go

This Is How Bad It Is To Be A Young Person With Mental Health Issues In 2016

Nearly a quarter of children and young people are being turned away by providers(01 of09)

Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) are turning away nearly a quarter (23%) of all children and young people referred to them for help by parents, GPs, teachers and others.

This was often because their condition was not deemed serious enough or suitable for specialist mental health treatment. (credit:© Naufal MQ via Getty Images)

You might not be able to access specialist support if your BMI isn’t low enough(02 of09)

CentreForum noted that in some cases, support for anorexia was denied unless a young person was under a certain BMI threshold. (credit:Donald Iain Smith via Getty Images)

You might not be able to get specialist support if you’re hearing voices(03 of09)

Criteria in one area suggested those “hearing voices in the context of mild anxiety, low self-esteem or low mood” should see their GP or voluntary sector counselling service and only be referred to CAMHS if they “heard voices that command particular behaviours”. (credit:H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock via Getty Images)

You might not be able to access specialist support if you've only expressed suicidal thoughts once(04 of09)

CentreForum found one CAMHS would refer people to more generic support unless they had “enduring suicidal ideation” (i.e. they had felt they wanted to commit suicide on more than one occasion). (credit:Jacques LOIC via Getty Images)

You might not be able to get specialist support if your condition hasn't reached a high level of severity(05 of09)

In some areas, referrals were not accepted unless the young person's condition was “having a major impact on the child’s life such as an inability to attend school or involving a major breakdown in family relationships”. (credit:Arvydas Kniuk?ta via Getty Images)

Maximum waiting times for services have more than doubled in the last two years(06 of09)

CentreForum's analysis of NHS Benchmarking data found that the average of the maximum waiting times for all providers has more than doubled since 2011/12. (credit:Hero Images via Getty Images)

Maximum and average waiting times vary greatly(07 of09)

Respondents reported maximum waiting times ranging from four weeks to over two and a half years. The average of these longest waiting times for each service was nearly 10 months for treatment to begin.

Average waiting times for different providers also varied widely, from two weeks in Cheshire to 19 weeks in North Staffordshire. The average waiting time in Gateshead is five times as long as for those in nearby Tyneside. Similarly, waits in London vary widely from two months in Kensington and Chelsea to nearly six months in neighbouring Brent. (credit:Aaron McCoy via Getty Images)

There were also 'hidden waits' concealed in average waiting times(08 of09)

CentreForum has uncovered that the median of the maximum waiting times for all providers was 26 weeks (6 months) for a first appointment and nearly ten months (42 weeks) for the start of treatment.

Some providers did not even measure waiting times at all, meaning that some patients could even be waiting longer than this. (credit:Jupiterimages via Getty Images)

Where you live can affect how much is spent on your treatment(09 of09)

CentreForum’s analysis of regional expenditure on mental health also revealed a North/South divide, with northern regions spending more on services while capacity problems exist in the South. (credit:Sverrir Thorolfsson Iceland via Getty Images)

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