The best thing dads can do for their kids
As a child activist says the impact dad’s can have on their children’s lives is sadly often overlooked, new research has revealed just how important it is for kids to have a present father figure.
QLD News
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For busy Queensland dads Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and Police Minister Mark Ryan, spending time with their kids is the best Father's Day present they can receive – and they’re not alone.
New research has revealed 85 per cent of children who had an actively involved father had fewer behaviour problems, better emotional wellbeing, and stronger family relationships.
The research by Act for Kids family support program comes as the organisation is urging fathers to spend quality time with their kids this Father’s Day, as part of a ‘Being Present is the Best Present’ campaign.
The campaign highlights one in four children in Australia live in a one parent family.
Cr Schrinner said a silver lining of the pandemic was the extra time he’d been able to spend with his wife Nina and kids.
“We can often forget to press pause on our busy lives, so this has given us a moment to take stock of what really matters and for me it’s being there for my kids as they grow up,” he said.
Mr Ryan said becoming a dad changed his life forever and for the better, despite challenges.
“I’ve found fatherhood challenging in some really fundamental ways,” he said.
“It’s such a big responsibility and you ask yourself, ‘am I being a good dad, am I doing the right thing to give these precious little people the best chance to grow up to be good people’?
“But then I look at the people around me, like my dad – looking back at my childhood, my dad, in his own humble way, showed me how to be a good dad.”
Act for Kids executive director Stephen Beckett said the impact of a supportive, loving and engaged father figure can be life-changing for a child.
“Sadly, society often places less value on the role of fathers, however having a father or father
figure as a stable source of love and encouragement helps ensure that children grow up happy
and healthy,” he said.