Importance of fathers

Contrary to some stereotypes, the involvement of men in child raising and home life is crucial, according to at least one expert.

Linda Nielsen is a professor of adolescent and educational psychology at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, and an expert on shared physical custody for children of divorce.

She has been working on parenting issues for decades, and challenges the widespread belief that fathers are less capable than mothers in nurturing children's social and emotional development.

"We have bought into negative stereotypes about fathers that do not reflect reality," said Nielsen. "We have embraced many demeaning, insulting beliefs about fathers that are baseless and run counter to the research and to national statistics."

Citing decades of research, she explained that children who regularly engage in active, stimulating interactions with their fathers — especially during early childhood — tend to exhibit lower levels of aggression, better emotional regulation, and more advanced social skills compared with those who have less involved fathers.

Nielsen also criticized the stereotype that men are inherently less empathetic or communicative than women.

Men are just as capable as women in demonstrating empathy, cooperation, and emotional understanding, according to research in her book Myths and Lies about Dads: How They Hurt Us All. The differences within each gender far outweigh any consistent differences between men and women.

She pointed out that children raised without fathers tend to score lower in empathy tests as adults, undermining the claim that women alone are responsible for teaching emotional intelligence.

Nielsen believes there is no empirical basis for assuming mothers are better than fathers at fostering children's interpersonal and emotional skills.

The belief that fathers are "less than" in this domain is a myth unsupported by science — and harmful to families and society.