The Father's Role in Children's and Adolescents' Psychomotor Development as a Foundation for Moral Development

Throughout the history of humanity, the father-child relationship has crossed multiple social, cultural and philosophical influences, going through a dynamic of psychological manifestations, between extreme parental attitudes and behaviours, either of love or of rejection. The specialized scientific literature abounds with solid arguments that the experiences of the child's life in the presence of the mother and the father directly determine his mental development as a whole. The child's social environment, and especially the parents, concretely influence the development of the child's psychic structures, namely emotional reactions, mood, language development, thinking, moral judgments, and, as a whole, the entire behaviour throughout life. Fathers have a direct and concrete influence on children's psychological development. From a psychological perspective, fathers play a distinctive role in guiding children as they explore the world, develop autonomy, and adapt to the demands of social life. The emotional and cognitive foundation provided by the father represents an important condition for children's healthy psychological and social development. Children who benefit from quality interactions with their fathers acquire feelings of safety, trust and the sense of personal value developed in a naturally healthy way, are balanced, have a good affective-emotional tone, are motivated in an adequate way, have a good energy level and can be guided by universal moral values.