Spending time with children as new Massachusetts parents is important, and now a study finds it might even be more crucial for fathers regarding their child’s health in life.
Research from Pennsylvania State University found that children whose fathers were less attentive at the 10-month mark were more likely to have markers of poor heart or metabolic health, such as inflammation and high blood sugar.
“When the father’s behavior in three-way interactions is negative, then we start seeing how that negativity potentially bleeds over the family and eventually impacts child health,” said Dr. Alp Aytuglu, Penn State.
The analysis also revealed fathers who interacted less with their kids during the infancy stage were likely to have trouble co-parenting, instead withdrawing or competing with mothers for the children’s attention.
The researchers determined these results by examining 18-minute videotaped interactions of mothers, fathers and their children at play at two points in time, assigning scores for parents’ sensitivity and positive affect, and for co-parenting dynamics like withdrawal and competitiveness.
“These behaviors sometimes arose when the father tried to divert the child’s attention from the mother,” added Aytuglu.
“You may not gain the child’s attention, and that could make you withdraw. Mostly men, compared to moms, can easily withdraw when they see they are not winning.”
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