Relational Fathering.

PARENTING; FATHERS; MASCULINITY; RELATIONAL-cultural therapy; FOSTER home care

In relational fathering, where relationship is central to parenting practice, fathers of sons grow and develop. The father–son connection provides a liberatory context for relational development in the fathers. By co-identifying with their sons, fathers begin to re-envision their sense of self, redefining a new way of being where masculinity is conceived of as caring and manhood as relational. The co-identification process, or the Myson/Myself dynamic, stirs the cauldron of transformation, fueled by the son’s unconditional love and acceptance. Using Relational-Cultural Theory as a theoretical model for interpretation, this article outlines a father’s growth and process of development in a growth-fostering relationship with his son. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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