We have published a number of articles on the important roles that fathers play in the growth and development of their infants and children—but almost always the focus is on fathers in this country or a similar high income country. That is why Jeong et al. (10.1542/peds.2016-1357) opted to study the importance of fathers in low and middle-income countries to see if their involvement with their children led to better developmental outcomes.
The authors looked at more than 87,000 children age 3 to 4 years and had data measuring the number of play and learning activities engaged in by father and child over the prior 3 days when surveyed. They then compared the amount of play and learning time with developmental measures obtained on the children.
The results show that fathers can make a difference in any socioeconomic environment in enhancing their child’s early development. The reality however is that almost half the fathers of the children studied did not engage at all with their kids and only 6% were highly engaged on a daily basis. Why is the amount of paternal stimulation so low in these countries? Drs. Craig Garfield and Judi Mesman (10.1542/peds.2016-2456) tackle that question in a commentary accompanying this study and point out how most fathers are gone all day working away from the home to insure there is bread and shelter for their families—so it is not their desire to be away from their children, but a question of survival if they are to support their family in low and middle income countries. Both the study and commentary are thought-provoking and well worth thinking about in our quest to ensure optimal health to all children in the world we live in.
