A little quality time can go a long way when it comes to setting baby up for success.
A new study from the University of Leeds found that children do better in elementary school if their fathers regularly spend as little as 10 minutes with them in interactive engagement activities such as reading, playing, telling stories, drawing and singing.
The study examined the test scores of nearly 5,000 five- and seven-year-olds and their interactions with their mothers and fathers. According to research, fathers who regularly draw, play and read with their three-year-olds help their children do better in school by age five. Dads who were involved at age five also helped improve seven-year-olds’ Key Stages Assessment scores.
Although mothers tend to take on most of the caregiving responsibilities, Helen Norman, PhD, a Research Fellow at Leeds University Business School argues that a father’s involvement can be crucial, especially when it comes to academically. Mothers have more impact on children’s emotional and social behavior than educational achievement.
“…If fathers are also actively involved in child care, this greatly increases the likelihood of children getting better grades in elementary school. This is why encouraging and supporting fathers to share childcare with the mother, from an early stage of the child’s life, is critical,” Norman wrote in a press release.
To help Dads get more involved Andrew Gwynne, MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Fatherhood, suggests that schools take a gender-neutral approach that calls for contacts from both parents and works to actively engage and support fathers to play their role.
“This study shows that even small changes in what fathers do, and in how schools and early years settings engage with parents, can have long-term impact on children’s learning. It’s so important that fathers are not treated as an afterthought,” said Gwynne.
