For dads, reading leads to happiness

Nearly 2, Scarlett climbs down from her dad’s lap at the kitchen table where kids’ books, paper and glue sticks are splayed and her aunts and uncles are in a vigorous discussion about work, politics and good reads. She’s on the move after turning the pages of "Pete the Cat," a toddling vagabond whose interest has shifted from exploring the characters in a book to exploring the kitchen. She’s like most toddlers, instinctually eager to soak up her surroundings once she becomes mobile. Even the newly minted crawling baby is a kind of research rover, on hands and knees, gathering data within reach, from the stubble on Dad’s beard to the soccer ball on the grass to the violet peeping up along the sidewalk. Steve Toomey Jr., and daughter, Scarlett, 3 ( And how Dad looks at and interacts with the world around him, and the language he uses while engaging his child, is relevant to his child’s first learning experiences. My son returns his 2-year-old’s wave as she toddles away. She blows a kiss to her dad, setting off a boomerang of waves and kisses in return from her adult family members. The thing is, everything is a learning experience when it comes to a young child, right down to how we say goodbye or show our love and respect. Recent research published in Web of Science supports the idea "… that father engagement has significant effects on children’s cognition and language at 24 and 36 months and their social and emotional development at 24, 36 months, and pre-kindergarten." The study concludes: "These findings suggest that programs that aim at increasing fathers’ education and that promote and encourage fathers’ positive parenting will yield large benefits for children." So whenever dad sits down to read a book for his […]

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