Sunday, June 18 is Father’s Day. 

 

Father’s Day did not become part of the official calendar of observances until well after Mother’s Day. It was proposed back in 1910 but didn’t become official until 1972.

 

Dads also lag behind moms when it comes to card sales and gifts. Retailers report that Father’s Day is the fourth largest holiday for sending cards in the U.S., behind Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day and Christmas, according to Hallmark. According to the greeting card company, 72 million Father’s Day cards are purchased each year. About a quarter of them are considered “humor” cards. And no, I will not tell you a Dad joke even though my husband is a master at them. 

 

Sadly, dads seem to come in second, or at least that is the perception, and maybe that’s because of the role they played in family life, which has certainly changed over the years. Back in the day, dads were the providers, the patriarchs, the head-patters and the arms-length observers. They didn’t sew costumes for the school play, read bedtime stories, or have emotional chats about playground crushes. 

 

Dads were the rocks who made money but didn’t get involved much in what the money bought. But things slowly changed according to researchers. The percentage of fathers who are stay-at-home dads is slowly rising. In 1989, only 4% of fathers were at home. By 2016, that number had risen to 7%, according to the Pew Research Center. In that same time frame, the share of mothers at home has remained relatively stable, at around 27%. In general, dads are more involved in child care now than they were 50 years ago. In 1965, fathers reported that they spent about 2.5 hours per week caring for children. In 2016, that number had jumped to eight hours.

 

And I could find more statistics about aging dads, single dads, etc., etc. 

 

But the point of this column is to point out that even though dads come in second in secular tests of fatherhood and influence, dads come in first when it comes to the effect they have in a child’s practice of faith. In the 90’s a Swiss study said that a father’s practice of the faith determined how faithful the children would be to their chosen religion as adults. Another survey found that if the mother is the first to become a Christian, there is a 17% probability everyone else in the household will follow. However, when the father is first, there is a 93% probability everyone else in the household will follow. 

 

In all the studies on the impact of men and fathers on religion, the influence of dads is greater than that of moms. Now, I am not downplaying women — God knows we girls get enough of that — but we need to step up and realize dads are vital to our salvation and not just a bit player in life like the TV sitcoms portray. It is men who show their sons how to love their mothers and wives, and it’s men who show their daughters strength and love and what a woman should expect from her own husband and father of her children. 

 

I can’t imagine a life without my dad’s wisdom, work ethic, patient instruction and demand for integrity for which I am forever thankful. 

 

So, after Father’s Day is over, remember the need to support and affirm all the men you know in their role as fathers and the positive role they can play in helping us get to heaven. 

 

Happy Father’s Day.