During this month of June, we celebrate fathers on the third Sunday – June 15th. You usually only think of a male parent when you refer to a “father”. However,

there are several types fathers. For example, a father can be referred to a  person of the Trinity, a church father is a priest. Another meaning is one who originates something like the father of medicine. Therefore, “Father’s Day” can have several meanings.

In 1924, U.S. Pres. Calvin Coolidge introduced celebrating fathers and in 1966, Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson issued a proclamation that recognized the day. It became a national holiday in 1972, when Pres. Richard Nixon signed legislation designating the third Sunday of June as Father’s Day.

In almost all cultures fathers are regarded as secondary caregivers. This perception is slowly changing with more and more fathers becoming primary caregivers, while mothers go

to work, or in single parenting situations and male same-sex parenting couples. Clearly, the image of the married father as the primary wage-earner is changing. The social context of fatherhood plays an important part in the well-being of men and their children. It has been estimated that 24% of single parents are men.

Involved fathers offer developmentally specific provisions to their children and are impacted themselves by doing so.

Active father figures may play a role in reducing behavior and psychological problems in young adults. An increased amount of father–child involvement may help increase a child’s social stability, educational achievement, and their potential to have a solid marriage as an adult. Their children may also be more curious about the world around them and develop greater problem-solving skills. Children who were raised with fathers perceive themselves to be more cognitively and physically

competent than their peers without a father. Mothers raising children together with a father reported less severe disputes with their child.

The father-figure is not always a child’s biological father, and some children will have a biological father as well as a step or nurturing father. When a child is conceived through sperm donation, the donor will be the “biological father” of the child, but not necessarily the active father. Fatherhood as legitimate identity can be dependent on domestic factors and behaviors.

The term ‘single father’ includes men in a variety of family circumstances. About half (52%) are separated, divorced, widowed or never married and are living without a cohabiting partner; some (41%) are living with a non-marital partner; and a small share (7%) are married but living apart from their spouse.

Cohabiting single fathers are particularly disadvantaged on most socio-economic indicators. They are younger, less educated and more likely to be living in poverty than are fathers whoare raising children without a spouse or partner in the household. Overall, two-thirds (67%) of households with children are headed by two married parents; in 1960, this share was 92%.

The increase in single father households is likely due to a number of factors, most of which have also contributed to the increase in single mother households, and to the decline of two-married-parent households. First and foremost, there has been a marked increase in the share of non-marital births.

Even though divorce rates have leveled off in recent decades, they remain higher than they were in the 1960s and 1970s.

Some experts suggest that changes in the legal system have led to more opportunities for fathers to gain at least partial custody of children in the event of a breakup, as well.

At the same time, the role of fathers has evolved, and the] public now acknowledges their importance not only as bread winners, but also as caregivers. Analysis of long-term time use, data shows that fathers are narrowing the still sizable gap with mothers in the amount of time they spend with their children. Pew research surveys find that the public believes that a father’s greatest role is to provide values to his children, followed by emotional support, discipline and income support.

Public opinion ascribes roughly the same hierarchy of roles to mothers.

Fathers engage in really costly forms of care. In that way, humans stand out from almost all other mammals. The role of dads varies widely between cultures and some other\ animal dads may give helpful glimpses of our evolutionary past. However, many mysteries remain about how human\ fathers evolved their peculiar, highly invested role, including the hormonal changes that accompany fatherhood. A deeper understanding of where dads came from, and why fatherhood matters for both fathers and children, could benefit families of all kinds. If you look at other mammalian species, fathers tend to do nothing but provide sperm. Mothers carry the burden in most other animals that care for their children, too.