To find out about navigating parenting in these crazily uncertain times, Bored Panda reached out to Natalie Maximets, a certified life transformation coach at “Online Divorce,” which is a professional divorce document preparation service with 20 years of market history.
“A father is not just a breadwinner for the family. He acts as a coach, teacher, friend, protector, and role model when raising a child,” Natalie Maximets, a certified life transformation coach at “Online Divorce” told Bored Panda.
She explained further: “You see, a child is like a sponge. They absorb everything that they see and hear. Hence, they tend to imitate their parents. For a son, a father is an example of how to interact with others. Therefore, they can adopt not only the character but also the manner of speech.”
Meanwhile, for a girl, her father is like a hero, Natalie argues. For that reason, the father’s role is incredibly important in the upbringing of children and the development of their personalities.
Natalie suggests listening to your children, “and you will notice that they use the exact words as their father. Why is a father like a teacher or coach to us? Remember who taught you how to ride a bike or skateboard. Or with which parent you did the craziest things in childhood. After all, who agreed to have tea with your dolls in the garden?”
On the other hand, “Mothers tend to be very protective of their children, while fathers are ready to give them freedom of action and imagination and take part in this themselves,” Natalie explained.
It turns out that the father’s participation influences psychological, intellectual, and gender-role development. “The children often look to their father for a sense of physical and emotional security. That is why it is important to live up to the reputation of a "protector" who will always come to help and teach them how to defend themselves. And we’re not talking about physical fights right now. Violence is bad. We are talking about emotional protection from the negative consequences of some situations,” a certified life coach explained.
“In most cases, fathers teach us not to dwell on failures and sometimes just laugh at ourselves when we screw up. For example, when a daughter does her first make-up in her life, she has a matryoshka-style instead of gorgeous make-up. The father will give an encouraging pat to his daughter and say, ‘Don't cry; you are always beautiful!’ Children want their fathers to be proud of them. It pushes them to self-improvement, cultivate external and internal strength, and reach new heights.”
Natalie argues that when fathers show support, interest, and tenderness towards their children, it significantly affects the social and cognitive development of the kids. “For example, daughters, looking at their fathers, choose their future partners. If the father is a strong, loving man who respects his beloved, the daughter will look for the same personality traits in men when she grows up. On the contrary, looking at their fathers, sons adopt a behavior model to treat women.”
