The father’s involvement in education positively influences the cognitive development and learning abilities of the child. This effect is witnessed at all the stages of development, said Veaceslav Albina, of the Gender Equality Policy Division of the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family. According to him, the father’s involvement in child care and education has a long-term effect, IPN reports.

“The children whose fathers take an active part in their growth and education are predisposed to have a better attitude to school and learning activities, to have a higher school attendance rate and to take a more active part in extracurricular activities, while the probability that these will have behavioral problems is low,” stated Veaceslav Albina.

According to the specialist, the children whose fathers take an active part in their development and education are predisposed to have harmonious relations with the fathers throughout life. They are less affected by depression and are more satisfied with life. Furthermore, the children of these fathers have better capacities of overcoming difficult situations and are more resistant to stress. They are more adjusted and can better deal with problems.

“If we refer to the correlation between the involvement of fathers in the growth and education of children and the relations between husband and wife, specialized literature shows that the father’s involvement has positive effects on the matrimonial relations. Also, the increased level of parental competence of fathers is associated with a higher level of satisfaction with the marriage and the stability of marriage in general,” said Veaceslav Albina.

He also said that mothers devote by 2 hours and 40 minutes a day on average to child care, while fathers about 1 hour and a half. “It is well known that the paternity leave has a positive effect on the women’s involvement in labor. When the responsibility for the care and education of the child is borne only by the mother, who has to take maternity leave for a long period of time, a series of problems related to the job appear and these can affect the woman’s salary too,” stated the specialist.

In the same connection, Veaceslav Albina said the promotion of the father’s involvement in child care, development of crèche services infrastructure and reformation of the parental leave are the main objectives aimed at ensuring gender equality in the family.