Fortunately, more and more parents are involved in the upbringing and education of their children, something that brings important advantages both for the parents themselves, as well as for their partners and of course, for the baby.
We recently talked about a study that determined that those parents who spend more time with their babies and are committed to their care report significantly lower depressive symptoms than less involved parents. But this is not the only great advantage of being a responsible and committed parent .
We review what science says about the great benefits of parental involvement in raising their children.
Benefits for dad
Less risk of depression
When we talk about postpartum depression , we usually refer to the one that mothers present after childbirth and which occurs more frequently than we imagine. But recent studies have found that parents may also experience this type of depression after having children.
The good news is that when fathers are actively involved in raising their children from birth, the chances of showing depressive symptoms in their first year of parenthood are greatly reduced, as well as developing greater self-confidence and self-confidence. their abilities as parents.
Better physical and emotional health
A report on the state of fathers in the world carried out by Men Care indicates that attachment parenting has numerous benefits for fathers, both in terms of their physical health (for example, they have healthier lifestyle habits) , as well as their emotional health (they feel happier).
On the other hand, a study carried out by the University of Illinois indicates that involved parents have more social tools and greater self-confidence.
Strengthen the bond with your children
Oxytocin, known as “the love hormone”, is secreted in extremely high levels during childbirth and also during breastfeeding, and is related to affectivity. But the production of oxytocin is not something exclusive to mothers , since fathers also secrete it when they interact with their babies and are involved in their upbringing, thereby strengthening their emotional ties.
But it is not necessary to wait to be a father to begin developing an affective bond with the children, since from the pregnancy it is possible to begin to interact with the baby by talking to him through the gut, singing to him or caressing him. Also seeing it in ultrasounds, preparing with the mother for the moment of birth or participating in the choice of her clothes, for example, makes the father feel closer to his baby when he is finally born.
Changes in the brain
Neuroscience has been in charge of investigating how a woman’s brain changes when she becomes a mother to take better care of the baby, developing more empathy and affectivity. But the brain of parents also changes when they take care of their children, increasing activity in the superior temporal sulcus , a region in charge of socialization that helps to interpret facial expressions, to process speech and to understand how we relate to others from a point of view. more rational view.
In addition, and as we have just mentioned in the previous point, when interacting with children, oxytocin also increases in brain regions associated with reward and empathy.
They feel more secure and confident
Studies show that when a father is fully involved in caring for his baby, he feels more competent and confident with his upbringing , which has a positive impact on his autonomy and parental self-efficacy.
For this reason, more and more parents are demanding that they stop being called “babysitters” when they take care of their children, stop doubting their ability and adopt measures to alleviate certain deficiencies that can still be found, such as the absence of changing rooms in male toilets.
Benefits for children
They learn faster
According to a 2017 study published in a prestigious mental health journal, babies of parents who are involved in parenting learn faster and perform better on tests of cognitive development at two years of age, as well as in social skills and language.
On the contrary, in the case of the children of parents who were not close to them or who had depressive attitudes during interaction with their babies, they obtained lower scores.
They have better language development
We have already seen on other occasions how talking with the baby (even if he will not respond to us or we think he does not understand us) has important benefits for the acquisition and development of language in the long term.
Based on this data, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics, when talking to babies, mothers usually use words that their children understand, while fathers do not usually take this into account, so they are more likely to introduce new words into conversations with their children , thus helping to increase children’s vocabulary.
Less risk of behavior problems
Also in the journal Pediatrics, the results of another report were published that indicated that those children who had parents involved in their upbringing in their first years of life, had a lower risk of suffering from mental health problems at the age of nine. Likewise, playing with parents during preschool is associated with a decrease in behavior problems and better development of social skills.
They improve their social and emotional skills
The closeness of the father is beneficial for the development of the child, since a father who cares about the needs of his child, accompanies him and raises him with love becomes a fundamental reference in his life at all levels .
Likewise, children also learn important life skills when they play with their parents. In this sense, studies have determined that physical contact games with dad improve children’s social skills, help them to have greater emotional control and safely overcome their limits.
They sleep better
A study carried out among fifty families with babies from three to six months revealed a curious fact, and that is that babies sleep better when both parents divide the responsibilities of their care and upbringing. These results suggest that maternal sleep functions as an important benchmark for how much the baby will sleep, so it makes sense that the more dad is involved, the better the mother will rest and the more the baby will sleep .
Another previous study also obtained similar results by showing that the more involved the father is during the first six months of his baby’s life, the fewer nocturnal awakenings he has and the better his rest will be.
Benefits also during adolescence
But implied parenting not only has benefits for children during childhood, but also in adolescence. Thus, studies have found that children of parents committed to their upbringing and education are less likely to show depressive symptoms and risk behaviors in both sexes, and have better cognitive development, social responsiveness and independence
For girls , having an involved and caring father has been associated with a lower risk of early puberty, a decrease in early sexual experiences, and a lower risk of teenage pregnancy. It has also been linked to a lower risk of eating disorders, psychological disorders and better academic results.
Benefits for the couple and for the relationship
An egalitarian, shared and conscious parenting also provides benefits for the couple’s relationship , improving the climate of coexistence, strengthening ties, increasing the level of satisfaction, reducing the rate of conflict and even favoring long-lasting relationships.
Regarding the benefits for the mother of having the support of an involved father , I would highlight a better postpartum recovery, better mental health and longer breastfeeding.
Photos | iStock
In Babies and More | Dad: This is how you should spend time with your children to develop a stronger bond with them, Modern Dads: This is how men feel about fatherhood today, The involvement of dads is key in the development of children
