One of the most important celebrations of the month of June is that of Father’s day. This celebration had its origins at the beginning of the last century, when Louise Smart Dodd postulated that fathers, like mothers, required recognition of their role in the family and in society.
In Mexicothis celebration, which is not an official day of rest, was established in the early seventies of the last century.
It is well known that parents are a basic element in the Emotional development, and in the specific case of the male father, his presence has essential contributions to mental health, which are related to autonomy, self-esteem and values.
It has always been known that the role of male parental figure It could be exercised, in his absence, by other members of the family such as uncles, grandparents or older brothers, but never be completely discarded due to the importance it has on mental health and psychological development.
The importance of the father
Children grow healthier when, under ideal conditions, they have both parents for their development and the presence of the father is an essential element to triangulate and “free” the close mother-child relationship of early childhood and provide children with the opportunity to have two different ways of expressing affection and care.
The development of self-confidence, the courage to undertake projects and exercise responsibility for a future family are taken from the example of a good exercise of the paternal role. On the other hand, the adequate resolution of some primary tasks of the human psyche such as the process of sexual identification, for both boys and girls, comes precisely from the presence of the father to present a role with which to identify or from which distinguish themselves.
In these days I received the information that the Commission to Prevent and Eradicate Discrimination (COPRED), published a letter setting out its position to suspend at a national and governmental level the celebration of Father’s Day in basic schools, since these celebrations supposedly exalt a single family model and “discriminate” against other types of “childhoods.” .
This idea, clearly favorable to certain ideologies, is based on the idea that, given the different family “models” of recent years, children who do not have a male father in their family could feel discriminated against and then, no longer child would have the right to celebrate it.
This idea has a basic problem, since the father’s functions are still necessary for the development of children, regardless of whether the father is not physically present or because he did not fully exercise his functions: the fact of depriving the father of that deserved Recognition does not provide anything favorable to children who do not have it either.
With the basic element of the acceptance that we are all different, today’s adults did have the opportunity to be trained by a father, and, instead of trying to eliminate the father figure in this way, responsible attitudes should be encouraged in all people who decide to exercise fatherhood. and not attend exclusively to their individual desires or tendencies.
Not all celebrations have to correspond to us and. From a young age, children require, with care and support, to identify their own reality, even if it is different from that of other children. This would strengthen their coping and help them respect others, precisely based on inclusion and respect.
I like much more the idea of celebrating the father, our parents who bravely and renouncedly assumed the role of forming us, who gave us, or happily still give us, the best of themselves and who completely deserve our gratitude and our recognition.
Dr. Beatriz Adriana Corona Figueroa is a Professor-Researcher at the Autonomous University of Guadalajara. Currently, she is Coordinator of the Research Committee of the Dean of Social, Economic and Administrative Sciences. She studied a degree in Psychology at the UAGhas studies in Clinical and Liaison Psychology, a Master’s Degree in Psychology with Orientation in Health Psychology and a stay at the Public Health Research Institute of the University of Montreal, Canada.
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