All my life, I knew,

What a great father looks like.

You taught me to live and laugh,

And to dream and dare.

Through ups and downs,

And thick and thin,

I knew I could count on you.

For every win and each loss,

From bruised knees to bad grades.

You taught me to rally,

And champion me always.

The day I help my kid,

I already knew what to do.

I saw the best dad and,

All I had to do is to be like you

I know you think

I cannot see past your plastered smile

I know about the challenges, the hardships

All through our life

Not much I can do

Other than to say

“Thank you!” and try to be just like you.

Parenting is a hard job and society often ignores the role of a father. Their struggles and hardships are unseen and their involvement is generally considered only in monetary terms. In reality, the father’s role in their child’s life is almost equal to mother. They are awake when their child cries at night, they care for them when they are sick and invest hours in raising their children. The kind of relationship children have with their fathers and the kind of behavior that a father shows, often models in a child’s life. Father’s love, support, and care during pregnancy, make pregnancy go much smoother for both mother and the child. A father’s involvement in a child’s life after birth also lowers the chances of Postpartum Depression.

During these times when work-life and household chores are equally divided; fathers have even bigger responsibilities and more effective roles in their children’s life. This often results in fathers experiencing high levels of workplace stress, burnout, stress, and anxiety. These mental difficulties are ignored by societies and sometimes even by families. Due to the stigma around the male gender and the idea that “men don’t cry,” fathers often tend to bottle their feelings and do not tend to share their feelings. With the changing scenario and blurring gender roles, both mothers and fathers can have equal roles inside the household but the stereotypes and stigmas around males especially fathers, make it difficult for them to deal with these issues.

The Style of a Father

Fathers are typically more concerned with setting high standards for their kids and supporting them when they don't meet those standards. They usually put more of an emphasis on pushing kids and assisting them in being ready to face the real world than they do on making them feel comfortable or confident. Fathers rarely share the same level of emotional connection that mothers do. Dads tend to be more straightforward and use fewer words than moms, even though they do not verbalize as much.

Fathers and Their Daughters

Young girls look to their fathers for emotional support and protection. A father demonstrates to his daughter what makes a healthy relationship with a man. When a daughter reaches dating age, she will seek out guys who share her father's affection and gentleness. A powerful and brave parent will find that his children relate well to other men who share his qualities.

Fathers and Their Sons

Boys take their father's character as a model for themselves, while girls base their interactions with others on it. From an early age, boys will look to their fathers for approval. Humans learn how to live in the world by emulating the actions of individuals around them as they grow up. A little kid who grows up with a caring and respectful father would likely grow up similarly. Young boys seek other masculine figures to set the "rules" on how to behave and get by in the world when their father isn't there.

Struggles of fatherhood and the role of the father in the life of a child are often uncared. Father's Day is a day set aside to express gratitude to our fathers and let them know that others notice their presence.. The idea behind celebrating Father’s Day is to remember the challenges and gifts that come with fatherhood. It is important to appreciate what they did for us and what they are constantly doing and acknowledge the sacrifices they have made. This also brings their mental health into the picture which is often ignored while taking care of their children and family. The mental and physical health of fathers which might include parenting issues, loneliness, divorce, and emotional neglect has been found to have a major impact on the health and development of their children, most saliently.

Father's Day is widely celebrated as a day of festivity and thankfulness where we honor the dads who have played significant roles in our lives. But amid happiness and tender gestures, it's important to recognize that becoming a parent can also provide its own special set of challenges. Many fathers find it impossible to balance their roles as mentors and carers with the pressures of providing financial assistance for their families. A few of the challenges that fathers face daily are attempting to be present and involved in their children's lives, managing the complexities of parenthood, and balancing work and family obligations. Social norms and stereotypes, which typically place unachievable expectations on fathers to be the sole breadwinners or to uphold stereotyped notions of masculinity, exacerbate these difficulties even more. Because they feel pressured to suppress their feelings or prioritize work over family time, having a midlife crisis, fathers may feel guilty, inadequate, and exhausted. In addition, fathers may experience relationship and marriage troubles, mental health issues, or co-parenting arrangements. Being a parent is not always simple, and it is important to acknowledge and provide support for the challenges that fathers may face in the future.

Let's take a moment on Father's Day to honor and recognize the fathers in our lives as well as to recognize and comprehend the difficulties they might face. Help, understanding, and encouragement should be extended to them as they navigate the joys and challenges of fatherhood. And let us let them know that their labor, love, and sacrifices are appreciated and valued.

On this Father’s Day, let us appreciate and acknowledge the sacrifices, struggles, love, and care that we have received all our lives and render them a ‘gift of care’ to tell them that we care and will be grateful for what they have done for us.

This Father’s Day, TalktoAngel brings to you, mental health services with the best Online Counsellors and Best Psychologists in India, to help your father manage his stress and worries, heal himself from the relentless struggles of workplace stress, and work-life balance, and cherish every moment of upcoming life. With TalktoAngel’s “Gift of Care”, gift your father the gift of mental health wellness by offering him affordable, confidential online counseling.