Children behave better, learn more and are better adjusted if their father is involved in their lives, a major study shows.
Researchers found that a good relationship between youngsters and fathers had a positive effect that could last for two decades.
In low-income homes, regular contact was also seen to lead to less juvenile crime.
Anna Sarkadi, of Sweden’s Uppsala University, where the research was carried out, said: “Our detailed 20-year review shows that overall, children reap positive benefits if they have active and regular engagement with a father figure.
“We found various studies that showed that children who had positively involved father figures were less likely to smoke and get into trouble with the police, achieved better levels of education and developed good friendships with children of both sexes.
“Long-term benefits included women who had better relationships with partners and a greater sense of mental and physical well-being at the age of 33 if they had a good relationship with their father at 16.
“It may seem obvious that what’s worked for centuries is good for individuals and society, but that’s what we found.”
She said the studies showed the value of the father’s input as a role model from babyhood to the teenage years.
The review, published in the latest issue of the journal Acta Paediatrica, looked at 24 papers published between 1987 and 2007.
