Making Caring Common’s new report, How the Pandemic Is Strengthening Fathers’ Relationships With Their Children, found that nearly 70% of fathers report feeling closer or much closer to their children since the pandemic began. Despite the considerable challenges many families are facing right now, one silver lining appears to be these strengthened relationships between fathers and children.
Large numbers of fathers report:
- Having more meaningful conversations with their children.
- Getting to know their children better.
- Sharing more with their children about their own lives.
- Appreciating their children more.
- Discovering new shared interests with their children.
Undoubtedly these are troubling times in our nation. COVID-19 has caused great loss and struggle for many individuals and families, and that should not be overlooked while we work to heal and reopen. As we celebrated Father’s Day, however, even some of the fathers who have faced significant hardship have benefited from closer ties with their kids. I acknowledge that I come from a place of great privilege in finding the silver linings of this crisis — I have a secure job in a school and healthy family.
As the country begins to open back up and we wander farther than the end of the street, it will be too easy to take the first train back to the way things had become. Everyone keeps talking about getting back to “normal,” but there was nothing normal about the pace of our lives or the growing disconnection. The report’s authors caution that “it’s vital for fathers not to let these new, often very meaningful interactions with their children evaporate.” I am committed to allowing the lessons learned during this renewed time at home to endure. Though we don’t lie around as much these days, we are moving slower and I still laugh out loud at my kids’ antics. I am proud of the young adults they have become as they stand by my side in the world.
To read more of Brennan Barnard, M.Ed., article, please click here.
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