With Father’s Day less than a month away, I’m being alerted to all manner of surveys that relate to dads. I have little interest in the majority but one caught my eye. To be honest, it made me feel a little sad.
The study of 1,000 Brits was carried out on behalf of grooming specialist Wilkinson Sword. It found that dads are very much in demand in times of need. It seems that huge numbers of people regularly borrow money from their dad, rely on him to cheer them up when feeling down and ask him for career advice (although interestingly only six per cent go to him for relationship / sex advice).
When it comes to expressing gratitude for these things, well, we’re just not very good at it. Believe it or not, a quarter of Brits feel too uncomfortable to say “I love you” to their father. In addition to this:
- 44 per cent admit to not always saying thank you to their dad when he has helped them
- 43 per cent think they should probably say ‘I love you’ more often
- 49 per cent chose to greet their dad verbally when they meet him, with only 28 per cent giving him a hug and 10 per cent greet him with a kiss.
Okay, that last figure doesn’t come as a surprise to me. That number of Brits greeting their dad with kiss would always be low because, unlike Italy or France, men don’t greet each other with kisses in the UK so that instantly rules out half the population.
Cultural differences aside, come on people, give your dad a hug! Let’s be honest, some British men can be extremely shy of expressing their emotions but saying thank you or telling him you love him will only make him happy, I guarantee it.
I can’t imagine never receiving hugs from my kids. I know as they’ll get older they’ll become more reticent but I’ll be very upset if they are part of the 23 per cent who feel they can’t express their love for their father.
Of course this survey concentrated solely on the dads. I would be very curious indeed to know what the figures would be for mums. Do we express thanks to our mums any more than dads? Do they get hugged any more than dads?
I reckon mums probably get more hugs, but I doubt they get any more thanks. I mean come one, being a parent is a notoriously thankless task, regardless of gender.
What do you think? Do you rely on your dad but fail to thank him? Do you hug him or ever tell him you love him? I’d be interested in your experiences and opinions.
Photo credit: Freddius Mercurium Reproduced under Creative Commons agreement.
