Parents’ Best Present is Their Presence

Collette Caprara / December 09, 2009

At this gift-giving time of year, parents should keep in mind that the best present they could offer their children is their presence. Findings from decades of sociological research featured at FamilyFacts.org show that parental involvement has substantial positive impact in virtually every aspect of children’s lives.

Parents’ investment can be considered in terms of four “Ts”: Time, Talk, Tracking, and Treasuring their relationship with their offspring.

Time: Studies reveal that the time parents spend with their children has an impact on issues ranging from emotional health to school outcomes. Adolescents whose parents are at home when they go to bed, wake up, and return from school are less likely to experience emotional distress than those whose parents are away. Teenaged girls who experience father absence are more likely to be sexually active and to become pregnant than girls whose fathers are consistently present (and the younger they are when their father is out of the home, the stronger this association is.) In addition, students whose parents are more involved with their schooling are more likely to graduate from high school or to earn a high-school equivalency diploma, while those whose fathers engage in educational and leisure activities with them tend to earn higher grades than peers whose fathers spend less time with them. (more…)