SANTA BARBARA — Happy Father’s Day cards extol the virtues of Dad with pithy sayings like “#1 Dad” and “Happy Father’s Day to a dad who taught me what life is about….”
Fathers occupy a critical role in child development. According to The Fatherhood Project, Children with actively involved fathers are: 43% more likely to earn A’s in school and 33% less likely to repeat a grade than those without engaged dads. Children who feel a closeness to their father are also twice as likely as to enter college or find stable employment after high school, 75% less likely to have a teen birth, 80% less likely to spend time in jail, and half as likely to experience multiple depression symptoms.