The healthy, adjusted father is able to put these issues from the family of origin in perspective and resolve them. Thus, bitterness, hostility, or resentment from the family of origin does not spill into the immediate family. Throughout the childhood of a son or daughter, the father has the opportunity to rethink his own childhood. While fathers contribute to their own psychosocial development, they also have an important impact on their children from infancy through adulthood. One researcher concludes that fathers who are more involved in infant caregiving have infants with greater cognitive development at one year of age than fathers who are less involved in infant caregiving.
Infants can distinguish fathers from other adults early.
Researchers point out that for school-age children, fathers were one link to the outside world. One study on parenting skills with adolescents noted that adolescents need firm guidance followed by explanations and reasons for that guidance. Fathers continue to be involved in the lives of their children in an adult child and father relationship. At the birth of a grandchild, the father of an adult child becomes a grandfather and extends the self to another generation. Father's Influence Research findings document the importance of father's influence on their children in the areas of self-esteem and school achievement.