“I really enjoyed spending a day at a kindergarten, doing things I am not really familiar with. Working with children is very satisfying although difficult at times.” These words express the feelings of a father who participated in an EU project on Men Care.

The role of fathers in the upbringing of their children is very important to the emotional and psychological development of children, sharing their joys, their difficult moments and learning to face the challenges of life at an early age.

The involvement of fathers in the overall education of their children, girls and boys, is also important in building a positive outlook on life.

Very often fathers are not getting enough encouragement to take part in the educational activities of their children particularly at school, whether it is prize day, parents’ day or any extra-curricular activity organised by the school. Research has shown that children do better at school and develop better social skills when the father is involved in the early years of their education.

The family plays a very important role. More space should be given to fathers in the upbringing of children, which is not necessarily the domain of mothers only. There is the need of raising awareness of the consequences on children who feel that their father is detached from them, is dominant or cannot communicate with them.

Being a father, playing with your children when they are still very young is one of the ways for them to learn to appreciate the role of a father – the first male role model in their life.

It is also fulfilling for the father as he builds a strong relationship with his children, experiencing caring and learning not to fear expressing his feelings, as he is very often constrained to do by society.

The media has an important role to play to create more awareness of father-mother-children relationships, of sharing, of respect for each other, even in cases of separation or divorce, to ensure the healthy development of our families.