Dads can be equally as good as a mom. A good father can make a great lightning difference in their children’s lives by bonding with them. A study of 18,000 people shows that fathers experience more well-being from parenthood than mothers. The art of fatherhood is not an easy one. Fathers are the towers of strength and support on which their children rely on.

One study found that infants attained higher cognitive scores at age one if their fathers were involved in their lives when they were one month old. A loving father-child bonding cements the base for the growth of the kid’s future achievements, peer popularity and personal adjustment. A devoted father who provides reasonable and firm guidance, without imposing his will, succeed in developing adequacy in his child. Here are some ways you can be more of an engaged and supportive father to your kids.

Connect with your Child

It is important that you spend more time with your children and learn more about them, their capabilities, their interests and their limitations. This will help you to deal with them realistically and stimulate and challenge their interactions. Help them build their self-esteem through your affectionate attention and bond to boost their competence.

Spend more time with your child and reveal to them what is more important to you for a perfect father-child bonding. Play a game with them or go out for a walk. Read a book together and share jokes with them, do your chores together, cook together or pretend play. Your kid will love to cherish these happy memories.  

Establish Emotional Intimacy

Be emotionally involved with your child in every aspect. Spend one-on-one time with your kids and make use of every opportunity to bond with them. Aim for positive connections with them. Make eye contact and smile, ruffle their hair, pat their backs, and kiss them in appreciation. Laugh out their anxieties and stay connected with your child.

Make this is an opportunity to help your child deal with emotional upsets. Show compassion to them, let them trust you to come open with their feelings. Once they make the connection, they will more relaxed, cooperative and closer to you.

Practise Positive Parenting

Positive guidance and discipline are essential to set reasonable limits in father-child bonding. Create a positive parenting experience that tends to set boundaries as well as nurture a strong bonding based on communication and mutual self-respect. Help children develop the tools they need to become healthy, thoughtful, and authentic adults. 

Ensure children know the rules and the possible consequences of breaking them. Apply consequences as needed and always review rules and reinforce expectations before applying. Fathers are found to be more willing than mothers to tackle their children and enforce discipline, creating an impression that they have, in fact, more authority.

Be a Role Model 

You are your child’s first teacher. Your actions should say what you want them to follow. Live your life in a way that reflects your values and matches your actions with your words. Demonstrating honesty, humility and responsibility through your behaviour will lead them to know what you expect of them. Openly admit your mistakes so that they will learn that it’s okay to make mistakes and bounce back. 

Include your child in family discussions to help them understand how people bond with others and work together. Trying to solve conflicts, rather than getting angry and upset, will show them what respect and problem-solving looks like.

Challenge your Kids

One significant trait to build your child’s confidence is to encourage them to accept challenges. Goad them on to undertake ‘healthy risks’. Explain to them what you believe is a ‘healthy risk’ for your child, depending on their age, maturity and comfort level. Healthy risks can involve age-appropriate tasks such as walking to the shops alone or making their own meals. It teaches them the important lessons of losing, failing or making a mistake.

Inspire your child to build independence slowly through tiny chores they will be able to manage their own. Gradually increase the difficulty of these tasks as they grow up. Allow them to develop strategies to deal with difficult situations and ask them to come up with their own solutions. Let them learn by making mistakes.

Create a positive and supportive environment in your home so that your child grows into productive adults who can transform this world. Watch your child grow into adulthood and stay in their lives as the best dad you can ever be through simple father-child bonding.