A Father Does Not Breastfeed, But He Feeds Differently

A father is also concerned with education and benefits, like a mother, from the daily closeness with his children, made up of tenderness, games and songs. He also feeds his children, even though he cannot breastfeed them. He too knows the sleepless nights, the bursts of laughter and the suffering that sometimes results from the education of a child.

The changes linked to the integration of gender theory in our society have allowed fathers to take an increasingly important place in the family. Nowadays, fatherhood is no longer considered for a man as the sole fact of providing for the needs of the family home. Fathers do not help education, they are not auxiliaries to it, they must be present and close figures, who participate fully in the life of their descendants, by guiding them, by nourishing them. and loving them.

Pedagogues and education specialists tell us that the child is part of a tribe, and that it must be taken into account. We often talk about motherhood and the intimate bond that forms between a woman and her baby. However, no one can dispute that today’s children are born in larger microcosms, made up of their parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts, family friends, teachers. are …

Any interaction, any habit, the slightest gesture and the slightest word leave a mark in the child’s brain, thus giving his parents a fundamental role in the developing adult that he is.

The father, a figure of psychological well-being

We all know that there are good and bad mothers, and that fathers are also fallible. They can make mistakes and shine by their absence. Before being references in the education of their children, fathers and mothers are people. Depending on their maturity, as well as their psychological and emotional balance, they will be more or less able to guarantee the good development of their child.

As a study conducted by the University of Michigan in the United States reveals, every parent has a responsibility to take care of their own psychological well-being, otherwise they cannot allow their child to achieve emotional balance. It was observed, during this study, that the effects of unemployment, stress or the simple fact of adopting erratic behaviors, marked by mood swings, negatively impact the cognitive development of the child, in particular with regard to their social capacities.

On the other hand, the impact of the father figure in the speech and language development of babies is of significant importance. Children are very attentive to this voice which is different, in particular by its tone, to that of their mother. Fathers have different gestures and offer children a very wide range of new behaviors. At the end of their first 3 years of life, this affectionate, funny and accessible presence of the father will allow the children to carry out the difficult language learning process.

The nutrients provided by the father figure

The number of single-parent families is on the rise. Fathers and mothers who have to bring up a child alone are more and more numerous, either because they have chosen this path, or because it has been imposed on them. Whatever the situation, the attention, care and education of a child first and foremost requires physical and emotional closeness, which gives the child a sense of security and love. This applies to both men and women.

On the other hand, we all know that children come into the world without having a survival manual at their disposal, for a very simple reason: they are not machines. Children are made of flesh, needs, a heart that beats forcefully and a brain that analyzes their environment and wants to get in touch with those around it.

The most important nutrients a father can provide

Our family and the bonds we make with it are a big part of who we are. Beyond genes and blood, there is a more intimate architecture that is made up of our emotions, our fears, our limits, but also our values. So many dimensions that a father must constantly nourish and in the right way. Here are a few examples to illustrate our point.

• Emotional availability: the ability to respond to the child’s needs and the quality of these responses guarantee optimal development and great maturity of the child in his future adult life.
• Recognition: every child needs to be recognized and valued by his parents. Feeling this benevolent paternal gaze, which gives courage and fills the heart with tenderness, is a real asset for the child’s personal esteem.
• Participation: A good father isn’t just about being there. It must promote the discoveries of the child, it must help him experience new emotions and learn new things. He must be a tireless interlocutor, a patient negotiator and an inexhaustible communicator.
• Inspiration: fathers often allow their children to open up to worlds in which they can feel competent, while allowing them to discover themselves. Many fathers pass on their passions, their love for music, books or nature to their children. These are the values ​​that define our adult lives today.

To conclude, we must say that a good father is not one who is a big child and who only plays with his family, or laughs with them. The “real” father is an adult with great emotional faculties, self-confident, courageous like any mother, who is always concerned for the safety, health and emotional lives of her children. It is the one that allows them to become, later, free, mature adults, capable of giving and receiving happiness.

Images of Margarita Sikorskaia