Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

To dad, with love

The nuclear family set up and MNC culture have changed the traditional role of fathers

Photo: K.R. Deepak

Under dad’s watchful eyes A man spending quality time with his kids on the beach

Those of us who have begun our journey in life three or four decades ago would remember our fathers as stern looking men always ready to discipline us whenever we played pranks or were not concentrating on our studies.

This was more so in middle class families. Most of us would have realised in later life that our dads had done all that only to ensure that we do not pass through the hardships they had undergone in life and to secure a golden future for us. The very mention of ‘daddy’ used to put us on our toes but there was deep-rooted respect for him all the time. The modern ‘daddy’ seems to be no longer feared. Dads have become more indulgent. They give greater freedom to their children to express themselves and do not expect the latter to agree with their point of view all the time. With both parents being employed as a result of growing MNC culture they find it hard to allocate time for their kids. This is producing a sense of guilt among parents that they were not giving children their due attention. Fathers are becoming all the more attached their sons and daughters.

Little wonder that the number of fathers devoting quality time to their kids is on the rise. While this growing concern stems from their inability to give more time due to their professional commitments, fathers are increasingly willing to share their duties like baby-sitting and changing diapers that were once considered the prerogative of mothers. Father’s Day is observed in many countries all over the world. Though the dates vary regionally, the third Sunday of June is widely accepted as Father’s Day in many countries including India. It’s primarily observed as a complement to Mother’s Day in celebrating fatherhood and parenthood by males. On this day, children give gifts and greeting cards to their dads to show their love and affection.

The first modern Father’s Day was celebrated in the United States at Fairmont, West Virginia on July 5, 1908. It was first celebrated as a Church service at Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church South that is now known as Central United Methodist Church.

Grace Golden Clayton, who is believed to have suggested the service to the pastor, is said to have been inspired to celebrate fathers after the deadly mine explosion in nearby Monogah the previous December. The explosion killed 361 men, many of whom were fathers.

The celebration of the day can be traced way back to 1839 in celebration of the fathers who went to war in the Battle of Iransop in which 123 fathers lost their lives defending the outpost. Another driving force behind the integration of the modern Father’s Day was Sonora Smart Dodd, born in Creston, Washington. Her father, William Jackson Smart, a civil war veteran, reared his six children as a single parent after the death of his wife during childbirth.

When Sonora attended a Mother’s Day Sermon in 1909, she thought if there was a day to honour mothers then there should also be a corresponding day to honour fathers. She worked relentlessly to make her dream of Father’s Day turning into a reality. She initially suggested that her father’s death anniversary which falls on June 5 be observed as Father’s Day. It was deferred to the third Sunday in June as the organisers had little time to make preparations for the celebration. The first June Father’s Day was celebrated in Spokane in Washington on June 19, 1910.

Father’s Day provides children an opportunity to children to express their love and respect for their father. It goes a long way in strengthening father-child relationship and thereby helps in the emotional development of the child. The role of fathers is often relegated to secondary status as compared to mothers as far as rearing a child is concerned. The significance of fathers in the overall development of a child cannot be undermined.

Though traditionally fathers are seen as ‘bread winners’ for the family and guide to children, the nuclear family set up and MNC culture has changed their role and many fathers are now willing to share the ‘joy’ of rearing kids.

The recent move of the Government sanctioning ‘paternity leave’ to working men during the delivery of their wives shows the growing involvement of fathers in bringing up their kids.

B. MADHU GOPAL

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail