Research Says Roughhousing With Dad Leads to Happier and Healthier Kids, and Here’s Why

A friend of mine recently sent me an article all about the benefits of roughhousing and the science behind it.  In a 2011 study reported by ABC News, Australian researchers found that roughhousing with dad is not only beneficial, but crucial, to child development for the following reasons:

1.  It teaches children to mentally and emotionally manage various stimuli at once.

According to researcher, Richard Fletcher, head of the Fathers and Families Research Program at the University of Newcastle in Australia, roughhousing with a father develops a child’s “…ability to manage emotions and thinking and physical action altogether.”  This is vital to a child’s growth and maturity.  Roughhousing is a fun and active way to achieve this kind of development.