What Fathers Say

CELEBRATING FATHERS
Janice S. Ramkissoon
29th June 2010

Vince’s thoughts on fatherhood

The most important thing a father can do is to love his child. So – what does a father do to demonstrate that he loves his child? Does he buy him a ‘Nintendo DS’ and leave him in front of the television for hours on end to ‘get on with it’? Does he work two jobs or very long hours, spending hardly any time with his children only to spend two weeks out of the whole year playing with his kids on a beach in the Caribbean?

The answer to those questions are ‘no’.

When we give (quality) time to our children we are developing a relationship with them, getting to know who they are, their likes/dislikes etc. In so doing, they will feel loved and feel closer to us. Later on in life they will remember whether we as fathers were there for them.

Did Daddy play ‘Hide and seek’ with me?
Did Daddy teach me how to ride a bike?
Did Daddy take me to the park?
Did Daddy roll cars with me?

These are some of the things our children will remember. If we spend quality time with our children then they will feel loved. However, just because we spend time with our children we should never neglect to tell them that we love them. Fathers from the older generation wouldn’t dare tell their children: “I love you.” In those days, putting food on the table and buying clothes were their way of expressing their love, and to them that was enough. Unfortunately, many people in my generation still crave the love of their father due to not hearing those three important words: ‘I love you.’