Importance of Fathers (father figures) to Your Mental health

First off,
Happy Father's Day to all the Fathers out there.
I know that being a father can be difficult and really tasking. Since today is a special day were you are all celebrated, I will be showing you how important you are also to the mental health of those around you and yourself.

FOR YOUR CHILDREN

Studies has shown that children whose fathers are active in their life have a better mental health, reducing the risks of low self esteem, reduce in school dropouts, incaseration etc.

Why?  Because children tend to be copy cats and need a parent figure role in their lives,   The more they observe a positive behavior from a parent,  they tend to model that exact behaviour.  Studies have also shown that a father can affect a child's Cognitive and social development when fathers are supportive and affectionate they instill a sense of well-being and self-confidence in the child.

•  Daughter and Father. 

Fathers set the bars for relationships for their children,  especially their little girls.

 Young women look up to their fathers for security and emotional support. The daughter sees what a good relationship with a man should be like from their fathers.  

If your father is loving and gentle his daughter will look for those qualities in a man and the father is strong and Vaillant those are what she'd expect from the men around her.

• Son and Father

The way the daughter looks up to her father for support for security and what her relationships with other should be like, the son looks to his father to form himself. Boy look to their father to build their own image to build their own person. These boys seek approval from their fathers at a very young age so as to form their own character and what an ideal man should look like.

As individuals we grow by imitating the behaviour we find around us that's how we learn to function properly in the world if your father treats with respect, and is caring the young child will grow up much more the same. When a father is absent young boys look to other male figures to set the rules for how to behave and survive.

       Fathers influence what our relationships with people look like,  and also who we are on the inside.  The way a father treats his child will influence how that child relates with others and what they look out for in the people in their lives. Friends, partners and lover are usually chosen based on how the child's relationship with his/her father. 

FOR YOUR WIFE.

Fathers and and husbands are so important to their wives women report that having an attentive and supportive partner both during and after pregnancy reduces stress anxiety and depression levels.

But Fathers too need Help.

Yes father's can develop mental health problems too.  

Most of us know about postpartum depression in mothers after birth but did you know father's can suffer from ppd as well? Do you know that 1 in 4 fathers suffer from postpartum disorder also known as paternal postnatal depression.

Having a child is life changing, so it makes sense that it would affects both parents!

Fathers,  we love you and we care about you. 

Please take care of your mental health too.  

Much love.