Speak to your father

The secret to happiness - speak to your father
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Children who regularly talk to their fathers are happier than those who do not, according to new research.
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Young people who said they talked seriously to their dads "most days" gave themselves an 87 per cent score on a happiness scale compared with 79 per cent for those who said they hardly ever spoke to their fathers in this way.
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The findings, from an analysis of research from the British Household Panel survey into 1,200 young people in Britain aged between 11 and 15, were released by the Children's Society to coincide with Father's Day.
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Nearly half of young people - 46 per cent - said they "hardly ever" spoke to their fathers about important topics compared with 28 per cent who hardly ever spoke to their mothers about the things that matter most.
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Only 13 per cent confided in their father "most days", according to the analysis.
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The study, commissioned by the Children's Society and undertaken by the University of York, showed that young people talk less to their fathers about important issues as they get older.
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The data showed 42 per cent of 11-year-olds did so more than once a week compared with 16% of 15-year-olds.
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The analysis suggested there has been little change over the years with the same proportion - 30 per cent - of young people talking to their fathers about something that mattered to them more than once a week in 2007-08 as in 2002-03.
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The charity said the findings were "highly significant" as academic research has shown that a child's well-being later in life depends on their teenage relationship with their father as well as with their mother.
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It launched a Fatherhood Commission with children, experts and the public invited to submit evidence about the barriers to fathers' involvement with their children.
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Bob Reitemeier, chief executive of the Children's Society, said:

This research shows that young people's happiness is closely linked to how often they speak to their fathers about things that matter.
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Yet all too often these days, children are becoming alienated or live apart from their fathers.
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That is why the Children's Society is today calling on children, experts and the general public to submit evidence to our new Fatherhood Review.
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It will be investigating the extent to which fathers are involved in the everyday aspects of their children's lives and in the autumn we will publish recommendations on how the obstacles to better father-child relationships might be overcome.

Richard Alleyne

Having a good relationship with your father throughout life is also helpful in so many ways

Trouble is the habit is set often before we leave home

A habit where we do not talk much to each other

Where we have few points of contact

Where we know little about each other or each other's life

If this is your situation then consider having a good contact and relationship

Consider building it from now on

Make the effort and see how it goes

If there is zero to communicate so be it

You will feel better for having made the effort

After all once your father has died it is too late

Too late to learn about your history and his side of the family

This would be a shame as our children are always intrigued about where they came from

If you are lucky your father can be a source of support and encouragment

A wiser head maybe

Fathers come in all shapes and sizes................. just like us come to think of it