In the month of June, thoughts turn to Father’s Day and the important impact dads have on their kids’ lives.
Parent Promise works with parents to help them understand what they need to know to raise their children in a safe, loving and nurturing environment. We work with both moms and dads to help them learn about their child’s important developmental stages and milestones and learn how to be their child’s first teacher.
New dads may be overwhelmed with the demands of a new baby just as moms are. There are several resources available for new dads to learn how to bond with their newborn and become an important role model in their baby’s life right from the beginning. Parents Magazine offers all kinds of articles and tips for new parents, including dads. An article on bonding with baby provides some important tips for dads to spend time with their new baby.
The National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse is also a good source of information that can provide fathers with important information about parenting their children. They have a website that helps provide, facilitate, and disseminate current research and proven and innovative strategies that will encourage and strengthen fathers and families.
The site has a Tips section with resources and ideas on ways dad can get and stay involved in their kids’ lives. There’s also a DadsTalk blog. The site also has a library where fathers can search online for resources related to issues impacting responsible fatherhood.
And finally, dads can form a special bond with their baby by reading to them. A study from Harvard University found that fathers reading stories to their babies and children often has a bigger impact than when mothers read to the children. The impact of dads reading to children is biggest in children under the age of two. The research revealed that dads “spark more imaginative discussions” and can be very instrumental to their children’s language development because of the way they read to their children.
Parent Promise wishes all dads a Happy Father’s Day this month.
