Contact with dad means better language skills

http://www.healthcentral.com/news/newsfulltext.cfm?ID=23501

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) -- "Wait till your father gets home!" used to be a
mother's ultimate threat. But with the two-parent household becoming less and
less common, University of Maryland researchers set out to study how important
contact with dad is to children's development. They found that even when
fathers do not live at home, children whose fathers are actively involved in
their lives tend to have better cognitive and language skills and fewer
behavior problems.

"We found that fathers who are involved with their children have children with
fewer problems," according to lead investigator Dr. Maureen Black. "That added
involvement from a father helps children tremendously."

Black and colleagues studied 175 three-year-old African-American children, most
of whose mothers were receiving public assistance. Seventy-three percent of
these mothers reported that their child's biological father or another father
figure had at least monthly contact with their children. Of these identified
fathers, 64% were interviewed and observed playing with their children.

The researchers wanted to see how aspects of father involvement were related
to the children's cognitive development, language ability, and behavior. They
found that both mothers' and fathers' satisfaction with parenting were
significantly related to the children's cognitive abilities and to their
behavior. Whether the father lived with the child was not related to either of
these factors. Maternal education and whether fathers contributed financially
were also predictive of the children's language development and behavior.
And where fathers lived with the child, "the home was more child-centered,"
according to the report.

Writing in a recent issue of Child Development, Black and her colleagues
conclude that their findings support "the importance of father-child
interaction to children's well-being." They also note that rather than just
looking at whether the biological father lives with the child, researchers need
to "consider father roles from functional and cultural perspectives."

"Fathers definitely play an important part in children's development," added
study co-author Dr. Howard Dubowitz in a statement. "I think these results show
that our society should develop family-oriented policies and programs that
promote positive father involvement."

Source: Child Development 1999;70:967-978.

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