There was a new study published last month in the United Kingdom, in which researchers found that when fathers took a vested interest in spending time with their children, even in the most ordinary of ways, these children exhibited fewer instances of developmental delays; the natural conclusion, and one reached by the researchers, is that involved fathers had a direct impact on the positive growth of their child, both physically and cognitively.

Paul Bennett for LifeSiteNews reported on the study last week, writing this:

A British study shows that fathers’ involvement has a positive influence on their children’s school achievement regardless of the child’s sex, ethnicity, age in the school year, and household name.

Research carried out at the University of Leeds has found that fathers can give their children an educational advantage at primary school by reading, singing, drawing, and playing with them on a regular basis, according to the U.K. study published on September 20.

Bennett notes that the researchers analyzed test scores from elementary-aged children from around 5,000 “mother-father” households; Dr. Helen Norman, the lead researcher, concluded this:

‘Mothers still tend to assume the primary carer role and therefore tend to do the most childcare, but if fathers actively engage in childcare too, it significantly increases the likelihood of children getting better grades in primary school.’

Naturally, the appropriate response to the findings compels fathers to take a decisive role in interacting with their children, not just providing for them; this was a response echoed by the researchers. Norman said, “encouraging and supporting fathers to share childcare with the mother, from an early stage in the child’s life, is critical.” Co-author Dr. Jeremy Davies said, “We should be recognizing this and actively finding ways to support dads to play their part, rather than engaging only with mothers, or taking a gender-neutral approach[.]”

Of course this isn’t groundbreaking; we conservatives in the West understand the importance of moral fatherhood, and can see the detriment that the marginalization of fathers has had on the culture and society. However, I also want to highlight the role that women have in facilitating a positive shift towards an environment in which fathers play an involved role in childrens’ lives. There is plenty of emphasis on how men are needed to right the ship, and rightly so, for they are endowed with the responsibility of being the leaders, but conversely, women certainly bear a portion of the duty, and that is taking their approach to romantic relationships very seriously, and viewing prospective dates through the lens of “potential husband” and “potential father.”

And, you know what else comes from involved and loving fathers? Normal kids and adults who don’t want to mutilate their bodies to solve some internal dysphoric crisis of self-identity.

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