When the going gets tough, the tough ought to
thank their fathers.
New
research from Brigham Young University shows that dads are in a unique position
to help their adolescent
children develop persistence.
BYU
professors Laura Padilla-Walker and Randal Day arrived at these findings after
following 325 families over several years. And over time, the persistence
gained through fathers lead
to higher engagement in school and lower rates of delinquency.
"In
our research we ask 'Can your child stick with a task? Can they finish a
project? Can they make a goal and complete it?'" Day said. "Learning
to stick with it sets a foundation for kids to flourish and to cope with the stress and pressures of
life."
The
scholars from BYU's School of Family Life report their findings June 15 in the Journal
of Early Adolescence.
"There
are relatively few studies that highlight the unique role of fathers,"
Padilla-Walker said. "This research also helps to establish that traits
such as persistence – which can be taught – are key to a child's life
success."
The key
is for dads to practice what's called "authoritative" parenting – not
to be confused with authoritarian. Here are the three basic ingredients:
-
Children
feel warmth and love from their father
-
Accountability
and the reasons behind rules are emphasized
-
Children
are granted an appropriate level of autonomy
About
52 percent of the dads in the study exhibited above-average levels of
authoritative parenting. Over time, their kids were significantly more likely
to develop persistence, which lead to better outcomes in school and lower
levels of delinquency.
This
particular study examined 11-14 year olds residing in two-parent homes. Yet the
study authors suggest that single parents still may play a role in teaching the
benefits of persistence, which is an avenue of future research.
"Fathers
should continue to try and be involved in their children's lives and engage in
high quality interactions, even if the quantity of those interactions might be
lower than is desirable," Padilla-Walker said.
Provided
by Brigham
Young University
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