“it takes a man to be a dad” – National Fatherhood initiative

Father’s day was a good excuse to not only discuss fathers but also to show one of my favorite television campaigns of all time for the national fatherhood association and a couple of the television commercials for Fatherhood Initiative:

(I believe this is one of the best pro bono initiative ads of all time)

Cheerleader: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T37pHK8Cd4A&feature=related

… and

Light Saber: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63U9MZ1EZ4o
One word.

Awesome.

Cheerleader, in particular, says everything about being a dad that needs to be said.

And last year I gave my top Father’s movie (my choices) of all time: https://brucemctague.com/father%e2%80%99s-day

Regardless.

For this year’s Father’s Day I was pleased to find a new piece of research.

Why?

Well. Up until this point many studies have linked fatherhood with lower levels of satisfaction with marriage as well as higher likelihood of depression than found in non parents.

But.

A recent study published in Psychological Science magazine suggests fatherhood, even more so than motherhood, is tied to higher happiness, satisfaction and meaning in life scores (pulled from the World Values Study).

And then in another independent study … parents, in general, claimed more positive emotions and more meaning in life then non parents.

Further … in breaking down the overall data it was seen that it was fathers who most enjoyed these benefits.

And there is more.

In addition, the overall positiveness scores were tied directly to activities involving children versus “alone time” <i.e., dads were happier when doing stuff with their kids than if they sat by themselves watching a ballgame & having a beer>.

So. Maslow may suggest the tie to depression is a reflection of higher ‘self actualization stress of being the protector and provider of the family’ (meeting social norms) and the inherent self pressure this creates but the study shows this stress gets counterbalanced thru the pure joy of being a father.

Being a father can create the priceless moments that a job success or personal success cannot attain. Yup. Only your own kids can create that height of satisfaction (in life, in meaning, in marriage …and, yes, in self).

I guess in the end I could have saved them all the trouble from doing this research.

Because I am pretty sure my friends who are fathers are always happier than my single friends. It is said relationships double the joys and halve the griefs. But fathers get to quadruple the joys.

But.

Anyway.

Now there is research to support this. So it must be real.

Ok. And just to showcase a current good example of father & son advertising here is the most recent Verizon execution which I think is pretty well done.

Verizon Dads &Grads: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNat2hMup3o

Happy father’s day to all my father buds (and all fathers who know that being a father has priceless rewards for those who choose to …well … father).

Written by Bruce