Father-son bond a key to young men's development

Article here. Excerpt:

'Technology changes. The economy changes. But some things never change. Some fathers still take time out with their sons – fishing, playing sports or video games, tinkering on cars. Even in challenging times, these unshakable dads are forging family ties, modeling manhood and fatherhood, and delivering life's most important lessons.

"The bonding between a father and son is important in terms of relationships and how they'll (boys will) generalize and translate to relationships with other males," said Rob Goldman, a psychologist who works for the Suffolk County Probation Department in New York.

It's also beneficial in helping keep boys out of trouble. There's a correlation between children who wind up in the juvenile justice system and incarcerated dads or fathers who abandon their children, he said.

"It's very, very important to be engaged and enrolled in their children's lives," Goldman said. "If they feel the caretaker isn't there for them, the child is going to have relationships that can be very destructive and erratic for them."'