There's more to being a dad than earning a living and being an advisor to teenagers.
According to researchers in the Fatherhood Project at the Families & Work Institute, interacting with dad is crucial for child development. Researchers now know that even interactions with your infant or toddler influence how your kids will relate to other people later in their lives and how they will view the world at large.
A study at the University of Regensburg, Munich, Germany, shows that children whose fathers played with them in a sensitive, supportive and challenging way at age two tended to form closer, more trusting relationships with others at ages 10 and 16.
By age 16, fathers' play proved even more powerful and predictive than the mother-child bond. The researchers found that dads' play makes a pivotal and unique contribution to kids' growth.
Telling stories of family history and how your parents and grandparents overcame adversity has an influence on how kids handle difficult times. An Emory University study showed that the ability of children, ages 14 to 16, to retell parents' stories is linked to a lower rate of depression and anxiety.
Your stories, told with eye contact about how you and others overcame problems, can help your children view the world with optimism.
