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For more than 30 years, we\u2019ve known about an intriguing finding: a father\u2019s involvement early in development is often the best predictor of a child\u2019s success later on \u2013 for example, in achievement tests at 16 or in avoiding a criminal record by the age of 25. In short, the more involved a father is, the better children tend to do in school and the more likely they are to avoid criminal behaviour, even nearly two decades later.<\/p>\n
But what does that mean? You could be forgiven for concluding that raising children well is all down to the direct and wondrous influence of men upon their progeny. All that\u2019s required is to pour a bit more precious paternal magic into a child, and, hey presto, the job\u2019s done.<\/p>\n
But child development is much more complex than that. For a start, children determine a lot of their own development, irrespective of what mum and dad have in mind. It\u2019s not all down to parents. We also know that a successful upbringing depends on a host of subtle variants in multiple relationships \u2013 between parents and child, parent and parent, and with other relatives and key people who take part in children\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n