Dads spend twice as much time now with their kids than they did in 1989 and triple the time they spent in 1965. I saw this statistic reported as Father’s Day was coming around last week.

With all of the social and economic issues wrapped around these statistics, they made me think generally about their impact. Putting aside a discussion of the reasons why, this statistic says that today’s generation has the benefit of more active involvement of their fathers. In my estimation, whenever a parent plays an active role, children benefit. This statistic bodes well for the development of our future generations.

I think about the influence of my father in my own life. Admittedly, I’m pretty sure he never changed diapers or cooked dinner (although he was definitely in charge of the barbeque). But he was active, involved and present in my life -- and always, always a role model. If he were raising children today, I’m very sure he would be changing diapers, cooking dinner and even placing a neat ponytail or two for his young daughters.

I like this statistic and look forward to the continuing trend.