Sana Suhail: Fathers’ role is crucial in strengthening family bonds and raising healthy children

Abu Dhabi, June 20, 2022

Her Excellency Sana Mohamed Suhail, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority (ECA), emphasized, on the occasion of Father’s Day, the importance of fathers’ role in strengthening family bonds, raising healthy and well-educated children. She added that parental involvement in their child’s early childhood helps shape their character traits and develop their skills over time, enabling them to achieve the best outcomes in the future.

“The role of parents has become more crucial than before, especially in this digital age, as the unprecedented availability of digital devices, social media platforms and video games, which children spend most of their time on, significantly affected the quality of parent-child communication,” she said.

Suhail noted that fathers are no less important than mothers in a child’s life. She indicated the need to promote father involvement in their children’s well-being by increasing attention to the quality of their children’s health life, keeping pace with digital life to protect them from various potential risks, as well as contributing to their education and development. She affirmed that fathers’ active involvement in children’s early education helps them overcome challenges that may come their way throughout the rest of their life.

She noted the importance of fathers as role models for their children. According to Suhail, studies have shown that children need to learn basic life skills like self-control, behavior management and emotional regulation in the early years to be “successful” in later years. In addition, children are found to excel in leadership and other important basic skills if they spend more time with their dads.

“Studies found that the positive bonds between mother and father promote a child’s well-being. Raised in considerate, cooperative, and respectful relationships, children are more open to exhibit the same qualities in their future relationships and their academic performance will improve,” HE Sana Suhail stated.

Furthermore, Suhail noted that those dads that get involved in daily tasks at home with children, are promoting their children’s development and instilling values of cooperation, participation and respect in them.

Suhail revealed that ECA is publishing a guide highlighting father role in supporting their family and partners during pregnancy. The guide will feature valuable information about the birth of the first baby, approaches to strengthen parental bonds, and skills fathers need to deal with their wives during pregnancy.