Home education is long considered as the bounden duty of a mother, who is regarded as the embodiment of devotion, selflessness, and unconditional love. A father’s territory, on the other hand, is often deemed as the workplace where he appears to achieve more sense of worth than he does at home. Besides, fathers’ more clumsy performances in baby-nursing are construed as the evidences that they are less sensitive about the emotional cues of babies. Although the paternal love often appears less direct and intense than its counterpart, it is an indispensable part of the healthy emotional, physical, and cognitive growth of a child. However, not every father lives up to his fatherhood, which is a sense of responsibility, a lifestyle that has no end.

一直以来，家庭教育被视作是母亲的天职。母亲意味着无私的奉献和无条件的爱。而工作则被认为是父亲的主要阵地，因为工作似乎比家庭更能给父亲带来价值感。此外，父亲在育儿时较为笨拙的表现也被认为体现了其对婴儿情绪的感知能力较弱。然而，尽管父爱相较母爱显得更为含蓄、平淡，但对一个孩子的心理、身体和认知水平的健康发展来说是不可或缺的。事实上并非每个父亲都称得上称职。为人父代表着一种责任感，是一种贯彻一生的生活方式。

Studies show that paternal involvement in children’s reading greatly contributes to their language and literacy development. Reading is an essential activity associated with the cognitive development of children. It’s a habit that can be cultivated through child-parent reading routines such as story-telling and text-retelling. Father-child reading is more beneficial to children’s acquisition of language than screen-based reading because it’s in-person and interactive. While mothers tend to be more descriptive, personal, and verbally encouraging, fathers make greater use of facial expressions and subtle body language. Father’s gaze and gestures (such as pointing to the book’s pictures) can help children concentrate on the reading process, which increases their learning efficiency. 

研究表明父亲参与的亲子阅读对孩子的语言和读写能力的发展帮助很大。阅读活动对于儿童的认知发展起着关键作用。儿童的阅读习惯可以通过日常的亲子阅读（比如家长讲故事、儿童复述故事）来培养。父子共读比独自在屏幕上阅读更有利于儿童的语言学习，因为前者有面对面的互动交流。母亲更倾向于使用描述性、个人化和鼓励性的语言，而父亲则更多地通过面部表情和微妙的肢体语言与儿童互动。父亲可以通过眼神和手势（比如指向书中的图片）帮助儿童集中注意力，从而提高学习效率。

Studies also find that when children play better, they read better, master more advanced vocabularies and develop more variegated communication skills. It is because young children’s cognitive abilities develop through new experiences and discoveries, which are key elements of play. Fathers who take active roles in the play encourage their children to push the limits, which helps them build independence, confidence, and progress. Also, it is easier for children to memorize words when they are uttered during the process of play. If fathers behave warm, nurturing, and supportive during the play, their children would be more prepared to the school than those whose fathers are less positively involved.

研究同样发现玩耍有助于儿童提高阅读能力并掌握更高级的词汇和更丰富的交流技能。这是因为幼儿的认知能力会随着新的体验与发现发展，而接触新事物正是玩耍的核心要素。主动陪孩子玩的父亲会鼓励他们挑战自我，这从而使孩子更加独立和自信，取得更大进步。此外，儿童更容易记住在玩耍中听到的单词。如果父亲在玩耍时表现得热情、体贴和支持，他们的孩子将比那些父亲不那么积极参与的孩子更容易适应校园生活。

Parenting is by no means the exclusive province of mothers. A qualified father is supposed to be more than a wage earner who comes home only to eat dinner and watch television. Consistent and active paternal involvement instills into children senses of security, well being, and confidence. Besides, the moral influence fathers have on children is as important as the emotional support they provide. Generally speaking, while mothers tend to see the rest of the world in relation to their children, fathers tend to see their children in relation to the rest of the world. Children turn to their fathers for laying down the rules which will mould their own characters and guide them to form new relationships in the future. While girls model their relationships with others based on their father’s character, boys model themselves after their father’s character. A good father shows his daughter what a good relationship with a man is and shows his son how to behave and survive in the world.

育儿并非仅仅是母亲的职责。父亲也绝不意味着赚钱、回家吃饭和看电视。父亲始终如一、积极主动地参与孩子的成长会给孩子带来安全感、幸福感和自信心。除了情感上的支持以外，父亲对儿童的道德影响同样重要。一般而言，母亲总是以儿童为中心看待周围的世界，而父亲则关心儿童如何为外部世界所接纳。父亲会帮助孩子建立起人生准则，塑造孩子的个性，并指导他们在未来建立新的人际关系。女孩会根据父亲的性格选择所要交往的人，而男孩则以父亲的性格为榜样。一位好父亲会向女儿展示什么是男女之间的理想关系，向儿子则展示如何为人处世、如何在世界上生存。

bounden duty n. 天职

construe v. 理解

fatherhood n. 父亲的身份

parent v. 养育

instill v. 灌输

mould v. 塑造