June is the month that gives fathers a chance to be honored and appreciated. A good father is known to be one who is important to the emotional, material, and physical wellbeing of his children. Grandfathers and other men other than the actual father can also fit this role. These days fathers have taken on more of a role in the family other than just a traditional bread winner. New research is showing that mothers and fathers play a more similar part in their children's adjustment than dissimilar.
Fathers are more and more taking on a nurturing role as society changes and is giving way to a team parenting style. I have personally seen how fathers are playing a more prominent role in their children's schooling by attending more parent-teacher conferences, joining their children for lunch, driving on field trips, and dropping off and picking up their children from school. Sometimes it is a father who first comes to look at the school to decide whether the school will be a good match for his children.
Father's Day is celebrated all over the world, albeit on different dates and in different ways. The common thread is to honor your father for his support and love. This can be done by making him a gift or spending time together playing a game. It has been said the best way to spell “love” is T-I-M-E.
President Richard Nixon made it a permanent national holiday by signing it into law in 1972. However, the first Father's Day card is said to have been one carved out of clay wishing a father good health and long life. This card was made 4000 years ago in Babylon!
Have a Happy Father's Day everyone. And dads, enjoy your neckties and your children; they grow up very quickly.