While child care was traditionally seen as women's work, fathers play a vital role when it comes to effective early childhood development as well. This is all the more true as a growing share of America's families rely on mothers in the workforce. In Shelby County, for example, close to sixty percent of mothers of infants (babies under a year of age) are in the work force (American Community Survey, 2007).
There is no doubt that children can thrive in a wide variety of family types and situations. However, active involvement of a devoted father offers infants and toddlers an exceptional source of the caring interplay and stimulation that feeds the developing brain. In fact, careful scientific studies have found that high-quality, active fatherhood is good for young children - it can lead to improved child mental health, better coping skills and even higher academic achievement (Hoffman, 2008).
In our community, many children cannot count on regular access to their fathers, leaving these children without an important input to healthy early brain development.
Fast Facts (www.kidscount.org):
- From 2002 to 2006, the number of births to unmarried Shelby County women increased by thirteen percent.
- In the city of Memphis, 52% of children are being raised by single mothers. Only 36% of children reside in a married couple household (2007).
Policy Suggestions:
-Support and encourage the active and regular involvement of fathers in the lives of their children. (This is the goal of programs such as Parents' Fair Share and Father/Male Involvement Preschool Teacher Education Program). Both programs provide family support and parent education during early childhood.
For more information on the well-being of children in Memphis and Shelby County, please visit The Urban Child Institute and The State of Children in Memphis and Shelby County: Data Book.
Citations:
The Annie E. Casey Foundation, KIDS COUNT Data Center, www.kidscount.org.
Hoffman, J. (2008). Daddy I need you: A father's guide to early brain development. Father Involvement Initiative- Ontario Network.
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The Urban Child Institute's Center for Urban Child Policy promotes the healthy brain development of young children through data-driven research and interventions.
Promoting optimal early childhood brain development
The Urban Child Institute's Center for Urban Child Policy promotes the healthy brain development of young children through data-driven research and interventions.
CUCP | Strategies
Assess current conditions that influence the healthy brain development of young children in Memphis and Shelby County.
Understand the implications of early childhood development.
Identify gaps in the safety net intended to support young children and their families.
Raise public and political awareness and concern with the healthy early brain development of children.
Understand the implications of early childhood development.
Identify gaps in the safety net intended to support young children and their families.
Raise public and political awareness and concern with the healthy early brain development of children.
CUCP | Core Beliefs
Between birth and age three, a child's brain develops at an astonishing pace. The early years are the most active period for establishing neural connections.
Children grow in an environment of relationships. Their healthy development depends on the well-being of their families and communities.
Brain plasticity decreases over time, and getting it right early is more effective and less costly to society.
By doing what we know how to do today - informed by best practices and data-driven research - we are making the investment necessary to insure a bright future for children and our community.
Children grow in an environment of relationships. Their healthy development depends on the well-being of their families and communities.
Brain plasticity decreases over time, and getting it right early is more effective and less costly to society.
By doing what we know how to do today - informed by best practices and data-driven research - we are making the investment necessary to insure a bright future for children and our community.
1 comment:
We have not only a social system but a court system that systemically discriminates against fathers.
I have witnessed father after father try to gain access to their kids only to be ignored, charged with courts fees, ordered to pay her lawyers, and then have his child support increased. He dared to buck the system. Eventually most fathers either run out of money to fight the system or give up.
We need a legal system that treats fathers as equal parents rather than as a paycheck.
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