In Perenting, There Are 3 Things A Daughter Needs From Her Father

Father-son illustration (Unsplash / Wesley Tingey)

JAKARTA - Parenting plays a major role in supporting the process of child development, both women and men. Therefore, it is important for parents to carefully weigh what their children need to face the future.

Apart from supporting material facilities, there are things that are not seen in parenting patterns. Daniel Flint, MA, who studies psychology, especially families and parents whose children have problems, tries to identify it based on a number of studies regarding parenting.

Identification is carried out based on the division of sex, and one of them is the relationship between the daughter and the father. There is an important point that girls experience certain cases if they don't get the 3 things below from their fathers.

A father figure who accepts, always supports, and gives a positive influence

In a study published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology in 2019, two groups of adolescents were interviewed. One group of teenage girls who experienced depression and the other did not. This study highlights the importance of the father-child relationship and the quality of communication.

Teens diagnosed with depression report feeling rejected and neglected by their fathers. The cold father-son relationship is motivated by two conditions, the parents are still married or separated.

A follow-up study was conducted to validate the findings of the first interviews conducted with the fathers. And the fathers of teenage girls who are diagnosed with depression do not realize that the quality of poor communication affects the psychological condition of their children.

This means that father-son relationships with good communication quality represent acceptance, support, and through these relationships can have a positive influence on their daughters.

Support to improve socio-emotional abilities

Quality parenting can support children's abilities in socio-emotional aspects. Not only is the role of father important in supporting emotional and social conditions, but that role is equally important.

In 2018, CG Campbell and EJ Winn wrote about Father-Daughter Bonds in a journal titled Family Relations. In his study, a group of fathers were trained in a program called Dads and Daughter Excercising and Empowered (DADEE).

Illustration of father-son walking on the beach (Unsplash / Carly Rae Hobbins)

The program focuses on enhancing basic positive parenting skills and maximizing the role of fathers in their daughters' socio-emotional well-being. In the program, father and son are involved in active collaborative play related to fitness.

Collaborative and participatory processes in training have a big effect on improving children's socio-emotional abilities. For example, the ability to make decisions, social awareness, relationship skills, personal responsibility, and self-management.

Giving attention and not being overly protective

Again proven in scientific studies, adolescent girls with eating disorders tell a relationship with their father who is very protective and in full control.

Illustration of father-son laughing (Unsplash / Caroline Hernandez)

In the Journal of Child and Family Studies published in 2015, women who experienced problems with body image and eating disorders reported a lack of support and permission to autonomy while growing up.

From the above studies, it can be wisely summarized that the father's 'presence' in the process of psychological, emotional, and social growth for girls is very meaningful.