Does Early Paternal Parenting Promote Low-Income Children’s Long- Term Cognitive Skills?

Although scholars and policy makers herald the promotive influence of fathers’ parenting involvement, limited research has carefully delineated effects of fathers ’ parenting on low-income children’s development and whether early contributions from fathers confer long-term protective effects. Using data from the Three-City Study (N = 261), analyses assessed whether fathers’ parenting practices during early childhood showed long-term links with low-income children’s cognitive skills through middle childhood. Results found that fathers ’ warm and stimulating parenting predicted enhanced reading and math skills for children in middle childhood, whereas fathers ’ restrictive discipline predicted lower reading and math skills. These links were independent of mothers ’ parenting and emerged controlling for a range of child and family characteristics. Associations between fathers ’ parenting and children’s cognitive skills were similar across both resident and nonresident fathers and across African American and Hispanic families