Father


A father, dad, or daddy is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his child or children, fathers may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with their child or children that carries with it certain rights and obligations.
A biological father is the male genetic contributor to the creation of the child, through sexual intercourse or sperm donation. A biological father may have legal obligations to a child not raised by him, such as an obligation of monetary support. An adoptive father is a man who has become the child's parent through the legal process of adoption. A putative father is a man whose biological relationship to a child is alleged but has not been established. A stepfather is a non-biological male parent married to a child's preexisting parent and may form a family unit but generally does not have the legal rights and responsibilities of a parent in relation to the child.
The adjective "paternal" refers to a father and comparatively to "maternal" for a mother. The verb "to father" means to procreate or to sire a child from which also derives the noun "fathering". Biological fathers determine the sex of their child through a sperm cell which either contains an X chromosome, or Y chromosome. Related terms of endearment are dad, baba, papa, pappa, papasita, and pop. A male role model that children can look up to is sometimes referred to as a father-figure.

Responsible and positive parenting

In today's world, the terms responsible parenting and positive parenting are often used.
UNICEF distinguishes the term positive parenting.
Positive parenting is parenting that creates an environment conducive to child development that prioritizes healthy parent-child relationships.
Responsible parenting is parenting that implies the fulfillment of the functions assigned to them by parents and is manifested in individual and social aspects, includes raising children, as well as taking into account the stage before the birth of a child, maintaining family relations with already adult children.

Paternal rights

The paternity rights of a father with regard to his children differ widely from country to country, often reflecting the level of involvement and roles expected by that society.
Unlike motherhood, fatherhood is not mentioned in Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
;Paternity leave
Parental leave is when a father takes time off to support his newly born or adopted baby. Paid paternity leave first began in Sweden in 1976, and is paid in more than half of European Union countries. In the case of male same-sex couples the law often makes no provision for either one or both fathers to take paternity leave.
;Child custody
Fathers' rights movements, such as Fathers 4 Justice, argue that family courts are biased against fathers.
;Child support
Child support is an ongoing periodic payment made by one parent to the other; it is normally paid by the parent who does not have custody.
;Paternity fraud
An estimated 2% of British fathers experiences paternity fraud during a non-paternity event, bringing up a child they wrongly believe to be their biological offspring.

Role of the father

In almost all cultures, fathers are regarded as secondary caregivers. This perception is slowly changing with more and more fathers becoming primary caregivers while mothers go to work, or in single parenting situations and male same-sex parenting couples.

Fatherhood in the Western World

In the West, the image of the married father as the primary wage-earner is changing. The social context of fatherhood plays an important part in the well-being of men and their children. In the United States 16% of single parents were men as of 2013.

Importance of father or father-figure

Involved fathers offer developmentally specific provisions to their children and are impacted themselves by doing so. Active father figures may play a role in reducing behavior and psychological problems in young adults. An increased amount of father–child involvement may help increase a child's social stability, educational achievement, and their potential to have a solid marriage as an adult. Their children may also be more curious about the world around them and develop greater problem-solving skills. Children who were raised with fathers perceive themselves to be more cognitively and physically competent than their peers without a father. Mothers raising children together with a father reported less severe disputes with their child.
The father-figure is not always a child's biological father, and some children will have a biological father as well as a step- or nurturing father. When a child is conceived through sperm donation, the donor will be the "biological father" of the child.
Fatherhood as legitimate identity can be dependent on domestic factors and behaviors. For example, a study of the relationship between fathers, their sons, and home computers found that the construction of fatherhood and masculinity required that fathers display computer expertise.

Determination of parenthood

defined fatherhood as "Mater semper certa; pater est quem nuptiae demonstrant". The recent emergence of accurate scientific testing, particularly DNA testing, has resulted in the family law relating to fatherhood experiencing rapid changes.

History of fatherhood

Many male animals do not participate in the rearing of their young. The development of human men as creatures which are involved in their offspring's upbringing took place during the stone age.
In medieval and most of modern European history, caring for children was predominantly the domain of mothers, whereas fathers in many societies provide for the family as a whole. Since the 1950s, social scientists and feminists have increasingly challenged gender roles in Western countries, including that of the male breadwinner. Policies are increasingly targeting fatherhood as a tool of changing gender relations. Research from various societies suggest that since the middle of the 20th century fathers have become increasingly involved in the care of their children.

Patricide

In early human history there have been notable instances of patricide. For example:
  • Tukulti-Ninurta I, Assyrian king, was killed by his own son after sacking Babylon.
  • Sennacherib, Assyrian king, was killed by two of his sons for his desecration of Babylon.
  • King Kassapa I creator of the Sigiriya citadel of ancient Sri Lanka killed his father king Dhatusena for the throne.
  • Emperor Yang of Sui in Chinese history allegedly killed his father, Emperor Wen of Sui.
  • Beatrice Cenci, Italian noblewoman who, according to legend, killed her father after he imprisoned and raped her. She was condemned and beheaded for the crime along with her brother and her stepmother in 1599.
  • Lizzie Borden allegedly killed her father and her stepmother with an axe in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1892. She was acquitted, but her innocence is still disputed.
  • Iyasus I of Ethiopia, one of the great warrior emperors of Ethiopia, was deposed by his son Tekle Haymanot in 1706 and subsequently assassinated.
In more contemporary history there have also been instances of father–offspring conflicts, such as:

Biological fathers

  • Baby Daddya biological father who bears financial responsibility for a child, but with whom the mother has little or no contact.
  • Birth fatherthe biological father of a child who, due to adoption or parental separation, does not raise the child or cannot take care of one.
  • Biological father or sometimes simply referred to as "Father" is the genetic father of a child.
  • Posthumous fatherfather died before children were born.
  • Putative fatherunwed man whose legal relationship to a child has not been established but who is alleged to be or claims that he may be the biological father of a child.
  • Sperm donoran anonymous or known biological father who provides his sperm to be used in artificial insemination or in vitro fertilisation in order to father a child for a third-party female. Also used as a slang term meaning "baby daddy".
  • Surprise fatherwhere the men did not know that there was a child until possibly years afterward
  • Teenage father/youthful fatherfather who is still a teenager.

    Non-biological (social and legal relationship)

  • Adoptive fatherthe father who has adopted a child
  • Cuckolded fatherwhere the child is the product of the mother's adulterous relationship
  • DI Dadsocial/legal father of children produced via Donor Insemination
  • Father-in-lawthe father of one's spouse
  • Foster fatherchild is raised by a man who is not the biological or adoptive father
  • Mother's partnerassumption that current partner fills father role
  • Mother's husbandunder some jurisdictions, if the mother is married to another man, the latter will be defined as the father
  • Presumed fatherwhere a presumption of paternity has determined that a man is a child's father regardless of if he actually is or is not the biological father
  • Social fatherwhere a man takes de facto responsibility for a child, such as caring for one who has been abandoned or orphaned
  • Stepfathera married non-biological father where the child is from a previous relationship