Rene Sterling |
The research clearly affirms that fathers do matter. Children benefit
both academically and socially when their fathers are involved in their lives,
even if they live apart. Moreover, non-resident fathers’ financial
contributions through child support appear to have positive effects on their
children’s educational achievement beyond that expected from the additional
income alone.
Schools and early childhood, child care, family service, and after-school programs offer the opportunity to promote and support the involvement of fathers in their children’s learning. Begin with a planning and consultation process. Be honest about the strengths and weaknesses of your current practices and listen to staff, parents, and others to determine how to create a more father-friendly environment. Identify barriers to, and opportunities for, engaging fathers in their children’s learning on-site as well as at home and in the community. Talk specifically about differences in strategies to involve resident and non-resident fathers and how communications with both fathers and mothers may have to be changed in order to ensure that non-resident parents are informed and welcomed. While additional training and resources are helpful, simple, inexpensive measures such as placing pictures of fathers and children on the walls, putting non-resident father’s name and address on the mailing list for invitations and announcements, sharing observations of the child’s progress with fathers, and encouraging mothers to involve fathers in their children’s lives can have an enormous impact. In addition, greater success can be achieved through improved linkages to community resources, including parenting education, counseling, employment and training, child support, adult education, family literacy, health care, substance abuse treatment, and domestic violence services, as well as recreation centers, after-school programs, places of worship, and libraries. |