The Father-Child Relationship Reflects on Personality Traits

Underlining that father-child interaction is extremely important in developing children's social, emotional and communication skills as well as preparing them for the real outside world, Yeditepe University Hospitals Psychiatry specialist Assoc. Dr. Serhat Tunç, therefore, made statements on the subject by drawing attention to the importance of parents sharing responsibility while raising children.

Explaining the importance of the father figure in child development, Assoc. Dr. Tunç gave the following information:

“The interaction of both mother and father has different consequences in healthy child development. For example, interaction with the father has an important role in the intellectual, social-emotional, sexual-role and identity development of the child. In addition, father-child interaction initiates differentiation in the child, makes it independent and gives creativity. For this reason, fathers should also play games with their children, read books to them and be role models.”

“Girls see it as a symbol of trust, boys as a symbol of patience.”

Assoc. Dr. Tunç explained that the father-child relationship also affects the child's communication with others.

0-6 Years Old Important

Explaining that although it is very important especially for the 0-6 age group, each child has different developmental processes and it is necessary to pay attention to different points in each developmental period, Assoc. Dr. Serhat Tunç said, “The main structure of the personality is formed up to the age of six. It is seen that children with strong father-child communication develop positive personality traits. It should not be forgotten that a good father-child relationship also strengthens the child's relationship with life.”

Assoc. Dr. Serhat Tunç said, “In this period, friends come to the fore for adolescents. Therefore, it is important for parents to get to know their adolescents' friends and support their positive relationships for good communication. In their relationships, which they deem negative, they must express their opinions by explaining their reasons.” he said.

Concrete Ideas to Improve the Relationship

Underlining that the most important point in the father-child relationship is to make the child feel loved and valued, Assoc. Dr. Tunç listed what can be done to establish correct communication as follows:

“Fathers must also verbally tell the child that they are loved. However, it should be felt with the interest it shows behaviorally. When children are angry, they should be tried to understand their feelings by trying to listen without judging or blaming them, and the child's thoughts should be listened to. In addition, the father must be consistent with what he says and what he does to set an example as a role model. One of the most important points is to spend quality time with the child. For this, the sharing they make together is more important than the duration of the time to be allocated. And when we're together, the father should just focus on the child."

"Avoid exposing children to poor-quality stimuli."

Pointing out that one of the most important problems and difficulties of the period we are in is screen exposure, Assoc. Dr. Serhat Tunç said, “Children acquire social skills by modeling social relationships and interactions. However, unfortunately, we are in a period where stimuli are intense and face-to-face social communication decreases. Therefore, it is also important for parents to keep their children away from low-quality stimuli.”

Be Wary of These Mistakes in Your Interactions with Your Child

Underlining that what should not be done is as important as what should be done in a healthy communication, Assoc. Dr. Serhat Tunç made the following suggestions to parents in this regard:

“Fathers' lack of respect for mothers affects children negatively. In addition, not expressing their love verbally and behaviorally, not showing their interest, concern and love, and not being consistent with what they say and do are at the top of the list of things to do. From time to time, parents may share their problems with their children due to their desire to communicate or for different reasons. It should not be forgotten that a parent seeing the child as a confidant in this way can impose a heavy sense of responsibility on the child. In terms of academic expectations, the wishes, demands and capacities of their children should be taken into account, and very high expectations should not be set in this regard and these high expectations should not be imposed.”

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