While the world gets ready to celebrate Father's Day to honor the father figures in their lives, it is important to highlight their crucial role in child development as well. When it comes to child development, we tend to think that mothers are the most important. However, fathers are as important as mothers in terms of the mental and spiritual development of their children.

Turkish psychologist Sena Sivri explained the eight important benefits of a healthy father-child relationship on the development of children and made important suggestions and warnings.

The emotional development of children whose father expresses love, both verbally and behaviorally, listens to and supports them will be healthier. In this nurturing environment, children feel safer and more valuable. These feelings play a decisive role in the foundation of the relationships they will establish throughout their lives.

Healthy father-child communication enables children to easily cope with the difficulties they experience during their developmental stages. While the father's supportive approach encourages them in childhood between the ages of 6 and 12, it makes it easier for them to express their feelings comfortably, develop problem-solving skills and cope with their negative emotions in adolescence.

A healthy relationship with the father also supports the academic success of children. Establishing a healthy relationship with the father and knowing that he supports his child in any condition strengthens their self-confidence and motivation. It also enables children to have a healthy role model and set goals. In addition, it helps them to work harder and be more motivated. All these increase the academic success of children.

Social norms and rules in father-child development are effective in teaching sociability. For this reason, a healthy bond with the father makes children feel more secure in social environments. It also supports the child to be more assertive and establish healthy new relationships.

Healthy father-child ties are also very important for the child to discover their identity. Problems the child experiences in the relationship with their father make this process difficult. Children with problems, especially boys, may experience identity crises and developmental delays.

Children learn about their perceptions of relationships by observing the relationship of their parents. They use the behaviors of the parents as role models and determine their own attitudes accordingly. Children who observe the father's loving and supportive approach with their mother will also approach their partners in a similar way in the future. Children who observe the opposite may also exhibit problematic, distant and avoidant attitudes in their relationships.

The relationship with the father is important in determining the paternal role for boys, just as it is in relationships with the opposite sex. A healthy father-child bond is decisive for boys who are future fathers for developing a healthy perception of paternity and behaviors.

The father is the one who encourages his child, as well as the limiter and rule maker. For this reason, a healthy relationship with the father is of great importance both for the child to protect his own boundaries and to respect the boundaries of others, as well as his view of authority figures.