On Sunday June 16, the world celebrated Father’s Day, a day dedicated to honoring, appreciating and expressing love to fathers everywhere in the world. As a result, a lot of people sent messages and gifts to their fathers in honor of Father’s Day.

Unfortunately, this show of love and appreciation to fathers would not be done again until the next Father’s Day.

Fatherhood is not a day’s job. It comes with a lot of duties and responsibilities which sometimes take a huge toll on the mental health of fathers. So, in this blog, we will be exploring some challenges that comes with fatherhood and how we can support the mental health of our fathers.

Understanding the Challenges of Fatherhood

Fathers bear a lot of responsibilities in parenting. They bear the burden of providing financial and emotional support to their families regularly. Unfortunately, due to the stereotypes of society that men should not rely on anyone, a lot of fathers work hard at the expense of their mental health trying to meet these unhealthy expectations.

Some of the challenges of fatherhood include:

Financial Responsibilities
One of the biggest challenges of fathers come with bearing all the financial burden of their family. They pay for food, education and other family needs. The pressure to be the breadwinner at all costs causes a lot of stress and anxiety for them. In a society where men are taught not to rely on others or seek help, this responsibility can be very overwhelming.

Emotional Responsibilities
Fathers are expected to be the emotional backbone of their family at all times. They must not be scared, weak or vulnerable. This is why many men struggle to connect emotionally with their family. They have been forced by society to be ‘powerful’ and ‘stoic’ at all times.

Four Ways We Can Support the Mental Wellbeing of Our Fathers

Fathers always bear the burden of the provider and protector in a family and this pressure places a heavy burden on their physical and mental wellbeing.
Since men are not allowed to seek help or express their feelings, they internalize it and this impacts their mental health negatively. This also explains why incidents like suicide, addiction, alcoholism is more common amongst men. Here are a few ways we can support the mental health of our fathers:

1. Encourage them to express their feelings and emotions: Let us create a safe space in our family where fathers feel comfortable about being vulnerable and honest about their feelings and emotions.

2. Recognize and acknowledge their contributions to the family: Compared to mothers, fathers are not much appreciated for their efforts. For example, we have a lot of music expressing love for mothers but not much for fathers. So, we must try to express gratitude to our fathers and acknowledge their impact in the home.
Here are a few ways you can show appreciation to your father:
       a) Sending appreciation messages and compliments regularly.
       b) Verbally express how much you love and care for him. This is very important as many fathers do not get told how much they are loved compared to mothers.
       c) Give thoughtful gifts regularly. Don’t wait till Father’s day before you give gifts to your father. You can also give gifts that supports his mental health like:
3. Encourage fathers to make healthy lifestyle choices: Unfortunately, many men do not take care of their physical and mental health compared to women. We need to encourage fathers to make healthy lifestyle decisions like:
  • Eating balanced diet.
  • Regularly exercising.
  • Getting adequate sleep.
  • Stopping or reducing alcohol intake.
  • Quitting or reducing smoking.

Also, encourage them to take time to care for their mental health.

4. Offer Practical Support: This is one of the best ways to support the mental wellbeing of our fathers. By sharing responsibilities especially financial responsibilities, we can lighten their burden.

Conclusion

The mental wellbeing of our fathers and dads is very important at all times and we must always try to find ways to support their mental and overall well-being not just on Father’s Day but every day.