When certain concepts and trends in animal behavior is used to explain human behavior, the writer regardless of the background (whether biology or journalism) has to be careful about treading a dangerous line between being misunderstood by the general public or misrepresenting the knowledge in the effort to make it understandable.
Allow me to try this one out about fatherhood in honor of all fathers as the world celebrates Father’s Day on June 20.
As a biologist and behaviorist, I studied proximate (how) and ultimate (why) causes of animal behavior. In this blog, I just want to articulate what might already be apparent to some of us fathers…that fatherhood is a blessing.
For proximate causes, fatherhood confers immediate (short-term) benefits to men that encourage them to take on the challenging role of a father. I have a previous blog that outlines the benefits of being a father that include: making one happier, helping become a better man, improving self-understanding, and enhancing self-actualization. There’s also the benefit of having a readily available stress relief in the scent of one’s baby.
Therefore, despite difficulties, we take the plunge… into an adventure like no other. Not only because of various cultural (including religious) expectations or reasons such as: (1) men should settle down and start a family, (2) raise kids for continuance of the family line, (3) take on the God-given mandate to go forth and multiply, (4) have an insurance to old age, and even (5) add farm or house help, but also there are psychological and physiological advantages manifest in fathers.
Cultural reinforcements or emphasis on continuance of family line is a manifestation of ultimate causes (long-term benefits) to fatherhood. It is desirable for men to start a family as those that have done so are more likely to have representations in the gene pool of the next generations. The behavior of raising healthy and happy children by creating a nurturing family environment makes intuitive sense because these children are more likely to survive and succeed in contributing to the gene pool, which is an ultimate cause.
People may have a variety of reasons in taking the leap into fatherhood. But whether cultural, religious, biological, practical and other personal reasons, fatherhood simply makes sense and is thus a blessing in the long and short of it.
Three cheers to the global brotherhood of men who took on the challenge and keeping on! Happy Father’s Day!
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About Us (circa 2009)
Our journey led us to this place. A little more than 10 years ago we began our journey as husband and wife. Three years later, we found ourselves with two bundles of joy- a daughter and then a son. They're the children we've dreamed of having.
About five years since the birth of our son, an unexpected gift came- a younger brother to our school-age kids. And soon enough, a baby girl arrived to round the family membership.
Brave was a term used by a friend to describe us. Challenging... and loving it -- yeah, this journey is not for the faint of heart.
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