This report was refreshing to the male psyche's need for hard data because it offered research extolling the benefits of highly involved fathers. The children enjoyed school more, received mostly A's, were less likely to be expelled, suspended or held back, and were more likely to participate in extra-curricular activities. Sounds like a recipe for drug-free kids. Benefits to mothers who live with involved fathers abound. Sharing the domestic workload, reducing isolation and shouldering together the stresses of parenting while learning its nuances are a few of the perks of paternal participation.
Society also benefits from involved fathers.
Fathers, too, reap rewards from involvement in family life. One author reports that men with higher than average paternal identity have higher self-esteem and greater life satisfaction than the average male. They might even live longer. Let us hope this impressive list of questions generates impressive research. Crucial in any successful transformation to involved fatherhood is the man's ability to navigate the first two years after the birth of his first child.