Father's Day

Just how important is a father to a child?

I have great difficulty answering this question because I grew up without one. Did it hurt me? Oh yes! Even as a very young child, before entering school and finding most of the other kids had fathers that stayed with their families, I felt the lack of a father. Uncles and a grandfather did not fill the void.

I see in my own children the difference that results because of the presence of a stable father figure. My son is a good honorable man who in his turn is a good father. My daughter is a strong, confident, independent woman. I believe those traits are directly related to the fact they had two parents to depend on while growing up. Especically a man who was there for them-day in and day out-all the time.

Does this mean any father is better than no father? Not in my opinion. Having met my father in later years (I got a letter from him two weeks before my 30th birthday saying he was now ready to be a father) I can only be grateful he was not a presence while I was growing up. To say he was unstable would be understating the the case by astronomical magnitudes. While the uncles and grandfather did not fill the void they at least provided me with examples of what good fathers should look like and how they should behave.

Lazy Trainer Tip

Perfect isn't necessary to being a good parent. In fact, perfect can really get in the way of accomplishing anything in any field of endeavour. What is necessary to be a good parent is to BE THERE. That is what kids need, someone who is there for them.