Fathers' Roles/Men's Voices

Questions and Answers

The interviewees and guests on RIF Exchange 204: Fathers Roles/Men’s Voices helped answer these questions.

Q: How have the roles of fathers and mothers evolved?

A: In colonial times, the father was the family’s provider, moral overseer, disciplinarian, companion, and teacher. He had ultimate say about child rearing. Mothers handled day-to-day child care and often made economic contributions such as raising crops, weaving, or producing household goods.

In the 19th century, urbanization and industrialization led many fathers to work away from the home. The father’s primary role was to provide for the family while mothers managed the household and child-rearing. Often, mothers were isolated from the community beyond the home and no longer added to the family’s finances.

By the end of the 20th century, women, including mothers with children, were entering the labor force. In today’s families, divorce is common and many parents are unmarried. Children may spend at least part of their childhood in a single parent-home, usually with their mothers but increasingly with their fathers. Today, both fathers and mothers have multiple and overlapping roles.

...the major thing we've learned s that many men are quite confused about their roles because there's been so much change in the way fathers' roles are viewed. We've shifted as a society from a time when it was pretty clear—this is what dads do and this is what moms do. It was quite easy for dads to figure out not only what they should do but whether or not they were doing it.

—Michael Lamb

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Q: How do fathers today contribute to their children’s development?

A: Both mothers and fathers offer love, attention, and guidance. They influence children in similar ways with regard to morality, social interactions, academics, mental health. According to Martha Erickson, Ph.D. of the University of Minnesota, regardless of gender, good parents offer their children:

• unwavering love
• sensitivity to a child’s needs and feelings
• clear and consistent limits geared to development
• firm, not harsh, discipline
• encouragement for emerging independence
• involvement in education
• a model of respect for self and others

Fathers differ from mothers in some ways. They tend to engage children in play while mothers are likely to spend more time in carrying out routine care-giving tasks. Males are often teachers and role models for children. They teach life lessons—what children need to know to survive in world—through modeling, coaching, and direct instruction.

Research shows it is not critical how a mother and father divide parenting tasks. What is important is that they cooperate in figuring out what works for them and their children. Active parenting of both mother and father is strongest predictor of positive outcomes for children.

Fathers tend to get a certain cultural support to be ... a skill builder with their children, to discipline them a little differently, to teach them a little, to help them manage frustration, get ready for the outside world. Mothers sort of help them get ready for the closer world of human relationships. Now those are of course hopeless generalizations, yet they do carry an awful lot of truths—specifically for the issue of readiness for school.

—Kyle Pruett

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Q: How does the involvement of fathers and other men benefit children?  

A: Children benefit from father involvement whether they live with or apart from their fathers. Regardless of age, children with highly involved noncustodial fathers are more likely to succeed in school than children whose noncustodial fathers are not involved.

Male involvement encourages children to explore and gain confidence in their problem solving abilities. These skills are applied when learning about the world and making sense of skills such as reading and writing.

... fathers can really make a substantial difference to their children's development. Fathers who are involved in their children's lives tend to have children who are better adjusted. Fathers who are more involved in stimulating and working with their children have children who do better in academic contexts in general. That of course includes literacy related tasks.

—Michael Lamb

Fathers who are involved in their kids' education and in their lives touch their children in ways that change their children’s' lives forever. We know that when kids have had their dads in their lives ... kids stay in school longer. They miss less school. They are less involved in bullying and violence and intimidation of other children. The words they learn through their reading actually turn out to be problem-solving competencies that they develop in their social life. It's not just about learning in terms of academics. It's about learning life.

—Kyle Pruett

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Q: How can fathers and other males support children's literacy development?  

A: Dr. Robert Ortiz, a guest on RIF Exchange 204: Father’s Roles/Men’s Voices, has studied the ways fathers support young children’s emerging literacy. He found that fathers who are involved in their children’s reading and writing tend to engage in the types of activities recommended for any parent figure. Fathers reported that they read story books, environmental material, television ads and newspapers, and stories on the Internet. Father-child writing activities included spelling and defining words, coloring letters, using chalkboards and computer paper, spelling names, tracing letters, and typing words on the computer.

Ortiz found that fathers got involved because they wanted to develop closer relationships with their children. And, many fathers wanted to help their children get ready for school.

Think about what it means for a father to sit next to a child and read. What do you have to do when you read to a child? You can’t sit far away ... you actually have to sit right there. So there is this physical interaction that occurs between the father and the child that gives the child a sense of belonging ... and gives the father a sense of belonging and being needed.

—Vivian Gadsden

... when dads read to their children, show children a model of the power and value of reading, when they convey to the child the importance of doing your homework, being involved in your schoolwork, that really makes a difference to children’s outcomes.

—Michael Lamb

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Q: How can early childhood programs and schools involve fathers and other males in supporting literacy?   

A: Some male involvement programs and initiatives include literacy-related activities to encourage reading aloud at home and in early childhood programs and schools. The "readers" include fathers, grandfathers, uncles, and male volunteers from the community.

Whether families include one or two parents, fathers and other significant males are often an "untapped resource." With a little encouragement, they are usually eager to read, write, and talk with their children during spontaneous and planned activities such as those described by Ortiz.

All father involvement efforts should consider and reflect cultural diversity. This is true when encouraging fathers to support their children’s developing literacy skills. In some cultures it is more traditional for fathers to engage in other types of activities with young children such as play and athletics. Programs may need to find culturally appropriate ways to encourage fathers to read and write with children.

... when men start showing up in these programs interesting things happen. The attendance is more stable for the children. The women feel more supported and valued for the work they’re doing. The kids stop thinking it’s just a special day for a man to be around. Men are interested in thinking and reading just like everybody else.

—Kyle Pruett

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