by Shayla Johnson

Created on: October 06, 2009

Delayed fatherhood has the potential to impact the relationship with the children. Age is a factor like many things that help shape who a man is. A man in his twenties is not likely to resemble a man in his forties. Age is a factor that continually seems to help define what a man is all about.

A young man who is in his early twenties is still trying to figure out who he is. He is learning a lot about life and relationships. He may be newly married and that relationship is continually puzzling him. The relationship with his children is much the same way. He is still unsure exactly what his parenting style is and usually goes on the instinct of winging it. He is amazing at being understanding, and sympathetic. When his child messes up he sees it as part of life, and knows that he too messes up all the time. He is likely to come down less hard on a child for fear of sounding like his father. A young father is full of energy and life, enabling him to participate in very energy consuming activities with his children such as chasing them around a playground and many games of tag. He is learning as he is going, which is a completely different route than the older father.

An older father is full of life experience and much advice for his children. He knows who he is and he also is aware of all pursuits in life that are a complete waste of time. The older father knows how relationships work, and has a set plan on how he will operate his parent child relationship. He knows what kind of dad he wants to be, and he knows what kind of children he wants to raise. The older father is usually more disciplined in his day to day approach with his kids. Not that this makes him and less of a great father, just one of a different nature. The older father is also more aware of how short time is. He may be more focused on spending quality time with his children than a younger dad who thinks he has all the time in the world. An older father may have less energy to engage in many of the activities that children enjoy, but he is willing to make it up in other areas.

Delayed fatherhood, impacts the parent child relationship by changing the operation of it. Though the basics stay the same, such as love and protection, the core daily operation varies. This is not a negative thing at all. As long as the child has a father, who is loving, supportive, and provides for him or her then that child should be happy and healthy. That is one of the best kind of relationship a child can have.

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