On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top fathers day cake design the page across from the article title. Dad”, “Daddy”, and “Fatherhood” redirect here.

A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. The adjective “paternal” refers to a father and comparatively to “maternal” for a mother. The verb “to father” means to procreate or to sire a child from which also derives the noun “fathering”. The paternity rights of a father with regard to his children differ widely from country to country often reflecting the level of involvement and roles expected by that society. Paternity leave Parental leave is when a father takes time off to support his newly born or adopted baby.

Paid paternity leave first began in Sweden in 1976, and is paid in more than half of European Union countries. Child custody Fathers’ rights movements such as Fathers 4 Justice argue that family courts are biased against fathers. British fathers experiences paternity fraud during a non-paternity event, bringing up a child they wrongly believe to be their biological offspring. In almost all cultures fathers are regarded as secondary caregivers.

This perception is slowly changing with more and more fathers becoming primary caregivers, while mothers go to work, or in single parenting situations and male same-sex parenting couples. In the West, the image of the married father as the primary wage-earner is changing. The social context of fatherhood plays an important part in the well-being of men and their children. Involved fathers offer developmentally specific provisions to their children and are impacted themselves by doing so. Active father figures may play a role in reducing behavior and psychological problems in young adults. Their children may also be more curious about the world around them and develop greater problem solving skills. Children who were raised with fathers perceive themselves to be more cognitively and physically competent than their peers without a father.