DO FATHER FIGURES MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIFE OF A CHILD 1

Do Father Figures Make A Difference in the Life of a Child

Chase A. Myers

James Madison University

Abstract

The research question that I chose is if having a father figure makes a difference on any aspect

on the development of a child. This question is important to me for a few reasons. I have family

and friends who grew up without a father, and it appeared that it made a difference in the way

they acted, spoke, and worked in school. This interested me, it seemed that because of one head

figure missing, there may be a connection to developmental issues. Fathers are also not spoken

about as much as mothers when it comes to taking care of kids. Is this bias, or is it a feeling that

we innately have that fathers cannot take care of their children? Single parenting is at an all-time

high, many people are not getting married, but are having children and one parent, typically

being the father, not involving themselves with the raising of their child. We need to take an

interest in fixing this problem, fathers need to be involved in their children’s lives and it will take

support from all of us to see this change.

Single parenthood is at an all-time high. Fathers are beginning to be less and less

involved in their child’s lives and these men are innately setting up their children to be

challenged in a multitude of ways. The research question interested me as it holds a special place

in my heart. I have always been curious as to if not having a father made an impact on the

development of children. The question is typically split into three categories cognitive

(executive), social, and economic function. These are the three aspects discussed in the research

and each is impacted by the involvement of a father figure. A “father” or “father figure” is a

person who takes the role of a male in the case of rearing a child. The person has to take the

singular role of a father figure and cannot do both roles of a mother and a father. The research is

conducted throughout the lives of children, most notably as a toddler and then again periodically

throughout their schooling life. The studies isolate for causes such as socio-economic status and

for any factor that could be related that may affect the role of the father and skew the results.

There are many issues happening this year, however, now is an important moment to fix

this issue as it is only compounding upon itself, the worse it gets the worse society as a whole

becomes. To fix the issue of absent fathers, society needs to appreciate the role of a father like

they do mothers. Support programs need to be provided to bring fathers back into the lives of

their children and to supply the backbone they need to reverse the effects the problem has

caused. Without finding a solution, the effects will grow to a point where we will not be able to

help these children and the negative effects will show in society as we will slow down in our

progression as a species. As shown in studies, without a father figure in our lives we are a society

in decline. A bad father or no father figure leads to lower cognitive, social, and economic

behaviors which will make society function less efficiently and cost the world billions of dollars

in productivity.
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In her article “Fathers Matter: The Role of Father Parenting in Preschoolers’ Executive

Function Development” (2015), Alyssa Meuwissen reports that fathers are important for the

development of executive function in their children. Meuwissen states that executive function is

the higher-level thinking skills that help develop goal directed behavior. She then goes on to

clarify that executive function leads to higher math and literacy scores and executive function is

quickly developed during the preschool years of a child. Meuwissen and her colleges conducted

the study between two types of parenting: controlling, and autonomous. Those children that were

allowed to make their own decisions scored higher when taking executive function tests.

Following Meuwissen’s tests, she found that fathers autonomous support of their children was

directly related with a higher executive function composite score. Fathers who controlled the

lives of their children had a negative relationship with the development of executive function and

hurt their children overall (Journal of Experimental Child Psychology).

Written in their article “Including Fathers in the Picture: A Meta-Analysis of Parental

Involvement and Students’ Academic Achievement” (2015), Sung Won Kim analyzes the effect

a father has on the accolades a child receives in education. Kim expands upon the point of a

father not being thought of a caregiver like a mother is. They speak about parental involvement

and explain how it is the parent’s interactions with the school system and with their children to

promote success academically. Fathers are more cognitively stimulating to their children based

on the fact that they use words children have not heard and ask for clarification. The study found

that if parents spoke to their children about their educational goals and expectations, and what

education is able to provide, the child was more likely to succeed academically. Kim asserts that

there is a positive relationship between parental involvement in education and achievement for

fathers. It is found that father involvement in their child’s education is just as impactful as it is
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for a mother. The tactics instilled by a father to assist their child with educational achievement is

different than it is more mother but makes it cognitively more stimulating for the child which

helps them in independent decision making (Journal of Educational Psychology).

Found on the blog “Child and Family Blog” (2018), Wallace et al discuss the effects that

fathers have on the development of children in a multitude of different circumstances. Wallace

and his cohorts separate the blog on the basis of ages and emotional learning. They provide

abundant information on each topic with links to a multitude of other refutable website. On the

main child development tab, Wallace starts by stating how fathers influence child development.

He goes into depth on how fathers’ effect cognitive, social, emotional, and even other more

discrete aspects of life. The writers then go into why fathers are underestimated compared to

their female counterparts. The two concepts that they state are that fathers are not thought of as

primary caregivers, and they are thought of as the breadwinners (Child and Family Blog).

Father figure involvement is needed to promote the child’s ability to achieve higher

executive function which leads to better grades and outcomes in school. According to

Meuwissen (2015), “Fathers who are more autonomy supportive have more positive interactions

with their children and, therefore, spend more time with them” (para. 43). The fathers who give

their children room to be themselves and make their own decisions will leave their children with

an ability to make independent decisions. There is a direct relation to the time spent with a father

and the development of executive function, if fathers are developing positive relationships

through autonomy and they are spending more time with their kids in the process there is no

reason for fathers to feel that they need to control the children or that they have to dedicate all

their time to the child. To follow up, Kim (2015) states, “there was a positive relation between

parental involvement in education and achievement for both fathers and mothers” (para. 29). The
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common misconception that the father is not needed in the family to raise a child, however, this

paper shows that fathers are just as important as mothers for the development of a child.

Education is directly linked to executive function; therefore, we need to ensure fathers are

making a difference in their children’s lives.

Cognitive development is trained not only by the mother but also by the father which

when they both are involved leads to the best outcomes. Meuwissen (2015) proclaims, “The

results found here support the idea that cognitive skills are affected not only by mother–child

relationships but also more broadly by the social context of multiple caregivers in which children

are developing” (Para. 54). Looking into this, if fathers participate in the education of their

children and do not leave it solely on the mother’s input on the child’s education, they are more

likely to succeed academically. To further this point Kim (2015) avows, “fathers are more likely

to expose children to the outside world and to use challenging and cognitively stimulating

strategies” (para. 34). With the cognitive stimulation that fathers provide children are able to be

more autonomous and develop into independent decision makers, leading to a positive outcome

in their academic achievement. Using these strategies, fathers propel their children to do the

work themselves and separate themselves from mothers in that way. Compounding on one

another, Meuwissen and Kim provide us with factual evidence that fathers make an impact on

academic achievement of children and without a father it is harder to achieve these results.

The sources conflict when it comes to the perceived roles of a father. Meuwissen (2015)

affirms, “Fathers tend to be more playmates and mothers more caregivers to their children”

(para. 8). This statement asserts that fathers are only there to stimulate their kids with play and

not to take care of the children which pushes the stigma that is in place. Fathers are also

caregivers to their children and this needs to be known and not pushed to the side as if they do
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not help in a meaningful way. Wallace and his cohorts (2018) declare, “it is a concept that tends

to push the influence of fathers to the edge of consideration is the idea they provide rather than

care. This leads to the conclusion that they do not spend enough time with their children and that

their involvement does not affect children’s lives emotionally” (page 1). Wallace pushes the

notion that fathers do more than stimulate their children to keep them busy and that they make an

emotional attachment that is needed to develop a child. Fathers involve themselves in a multitude

of ways these sources show the two sides of the argument, the generalization that fathers are

playmates and the reality that they do more than play with children. Both of these articles share

the same statistics; however, they present the fathers in two different ways which leads to

confusion on the readers behalf.

Fathers who are active in the lives of their children make a positive impact on those kids

lives. When fathers are present, they push their kids to succeed economically, cognitively,

socially, and in their education. Absent fathers are at a historic high and this presents a negative

relationship with the development of the next generation. There is a necessity to get these fathers

to do their jobs so that kids will be able to have an ability to succeed. My viewpoint has stayed

the same from the beginning of the research to the end, I knew there was an effect a father had

on children, as I could see it in my friends and family who were not raised with a father. I plan to

take up the position that fathers are an essential part of the family to promote the well-being and

development of children. The research I have conducted was very thought provoking and

provided evidence to back the claim up. Research that will be used to fill in gaps will be found

from the blog site I used throughout this paper as they provide excellent research to help the

claim.
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REFERENCES

Meuwissen A. S. (2015). Fathers matter: The role of father parenting in preschoolers’ executive

function development. United States: Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2015.06.010

Kim S. W. (2015). Including fathers in the picture: A meta-analysis of parental involvement and

students’ academic achievement. United State: Journal of Educational Psychology.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/edu0000023

Wallace et al (2018). Child and family blog. United States: Child & Family Blog. Retrieved from

https://www.childandfamilyblog.com/about/