How Important is My Dad?

Hey my little cuties! :) I just wanted to start off by telling you this: I love my family. I LOVE my family so much. :) They have been here for me for all the crazy and fun and hard times I've gone through so far in my life. They literally have been my comfort and support through thick and thin. I hope that through my blog writing that you guys can come to understand for yourselves how important your family really is. I believe the value of families is so important to remember. I know that most everyone has some form of family figure in their lives whether it's their immediate family, extended family, close friends, or acquaintances. Having people close to you to call family is how we can learn to grow. 

I chose to discuss something that is extremely important to me regarding the family. Often times, we hear over and over again how important mothers are in the family. We know they are, according to the family proclamation, primarily the nurturers. They are the ones who bear children. But what I want to cover is the other half in the marriage: the father. How important is the father in the family unit? Can they still nurture their children even though the mother is considered the "primary nurturer"? I think sometimes we may forget that the father is just as important as the mother in a family. I'll tell you one thing: my dad has been by my mom's side through thick and thin in raising my siblings and I in our home. They are each others best friend. He has always supported her through everything my family has gone through and I respect him so much for that. I have a strong testimony of how both the mother and the father are equally important in raising a family. Heavenly Father has set up the family in a way where both the mother and father can work together to raise His Spirit children in love.

So really, how important is the father? In her book, "Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know" Dr. Meg Meeker, a pediatrician with more than 20 years experience counseling young girls, explains the importance fathers are to their daughters in today's society. She declares, "In today's increasingly complicated world, it's often difficult for parents to connect with their daughters-and especially so for fathers...that a young woman's relationship with her father is far more important than we've ever realized. To become a strong, confident woman, a daughter needs her father's attention, protection, courage, and wisdom." I highly recommend anyone who's interested in reading Dr. Meg Meeker's book to read it! She gives such profound insight regarding how important the father is to his daughters.

I agree with her with all my heart. Personally for me growing up has always been kind of a struggle. From my perspective as his daughter, I look up to my dad a lot. He's literally the first man in my life. Therefore, he's my exemplar to my future husband. My dad grew up in a household without the knowledge of the importance his influence as the father is to us, his children. The older I get, the more I realize some things that have been missed in fulfilling the responsibility of being "the dad" in my family. I don't blame him because it's not all his fault that he may not fully understand his role as the father. However, there is always room to learn and grow from the past. There is always room to realize the present, learn from it and change for a better future.

Here is a youtube clip titled "Good Dads: the Real Game-changer; Dr. Meg Meeker at TEDxTraverseCity" where Meg Meeker explains how society makes dads look like a joke. However, she says that children's identity is shaped from their dads. I encourage you to watch this clip and as you do so, think about how important dads really are in the family.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z52X5OwSVgM

Sources:

Meeker, M. (2007). Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know. Random House Publishing Group.