By Faten Omar

KUWAIT: On June 18, several countries celebrated Father’s Day, which honors fathers and recognizes their sacrifices for the sake of their children. Despite the great effort by fathers in the Arab world, Father’s Day does not receive as much attention as Mother’s Day. The impact fathers have on their children is often underappreciated. The majority of psychological research on parenting has been focused on mothers.

Speaking to Kuwait Times, counseling psychologist Barehan Hassan revealed fathers are a valuable factor in their children’s life, adding that according to recent studies, children who have an involved father are more likely to be emotionally stable and self-assured to explore their surroundings, and when they get older, they will have better social ties. “According to numerous studies, active and supportive fathering is linked to teenagers’ improved language abilities, intellectual functioning and academic accomplishment,” she noted.

Hassan explained the phenomenon of not celebrating Father’s Day in the Middle East is related to the nature of the relationship between children and their mothers. “Children in Arab countries spend more time with their mothers than their fathers. That is why mothers are recognized despite a father’s efforts to provide a decent life for his children and take care of the financial aspects,” she said. She pointed out Father’s Day should also be celebrated, which will impart justice in the family.

This is in honor of his efforts in managing the family and providing a decent life for them. She called on children to take care of their parents, especially the elderly, who need special care and great attention because they suffered to provide a decent life for them. Fathers’ Day is not merely a day of celebration for men, Fadi Salameh, a new father, told Kuwait Times. He said this holiday is not completely accepted in our society, but seeing appreciation from your children means the world.

“Recognizing how much effort we make to make their life easy and great is a great gift for us. More people must embrace the idea of the influence fathers have on their families, especially in their children’s lives,” he noted. Ali Hemdan noted that Fathers’ Day is not celebrated in Kuwait because it cannot be commercialized like Mother’s Day. “Fathers are practical — they will not accept flowers and gifts from their children; they only want appreciation. But on Mother’s Day, you can see how shops and stores promote everything, which allows it to spread faster,” he said.

The idea of Father’s Day was by an American girl Sonora Smart Dodd, who founded it in 1910, inspired by the incredible example of her twice-widowed yet devoted father. Her father single-handedly raised his six children after the death of his wife in 1898, so Sonora submitted a petition recommending devoting a day to celebrate fathers. The city of Spokane celebrated its first Father’s Day on June 19, 1910, and this custom later spread throughout the world.