Sunday is Father’s DayWhy fathers should cultivate healthy relationships with the mothers of their childrenIs your child angry and aggressive? Does he or she choose friends who bully and treat or treat him or her with little respect? If the answer is ‘yes’ a major reason for the behaviour could be the absence of a good relationship between you and the other parent.According to Kim Jackson, head of Government’s Mirrors programme, and Pete Saunders, local advocate for fathers, children are directly impacted by the quality of the relationship between their parents even where the parents are not living together.“When mothers and fathers have a good relationship, you also see mom is likely to be able to be a better mom,” said Ms Jackson.“When fathers have a good relationship with the mothers of their children, boys learn how to treat women and are less likely to act aggressively and girls are less likely to be involved in unhealthy relationships.“When fathers are aggressive, their children are more likely to be anxious, withdrawn and antisocial.”The Mirrors programme is a personal development programme for students.Ms Jackson said it’s striking the large number of children who want to know and have a relationship with their fathers because there’s nothing there.She is mother to a nine-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter their father doesn’t live in Bermuda.“The father of my children lives overseas,” she said. “But I am aware of this research and so we make every effort to have a healthy relationship for the sake of our children.“We treat it like we are a military family. He calls every morning and every night and speaks with them. You would think we were all living in the same house.”And she credits this good relationship with the reason her children are doing well.“They are confident, affectionate, have good self-control, self-esteem and are responsible,” she said.Both children are at the top of their classes.“My daughter is head girl at Sandys Middle School and, at 13, she just took the IGCSE in maths and English. These exams are normally taken at age 16,” she said.Pointing to the success she’s seeing with her children, Ms Jackson said it’s obvious that fathers who don’t live with their children can stay involved, with the children developing well in all facets of their lives.“Fathers matter in their children’s lives. All it takes is for fathers to be involved,” she said.“The quality of the relationship with mom can make a huge difference in the outcomes. So there are two simple things they can do: be involved and improve the quality of the relationship with mom.”Mr Saunders said he’s convinced that his involvement with his son is a large part of why he is doing well. Married and living as a family, he believes that all fathers need to be involved in their children’s lives.“Being involved is being there for our kids,” he said. “It’s not complicated. Be present in their lives, attend their doctor’s appointments, you may ask the pediatrician different questions from the mother. Women are wired differently and if we work together it will be to the benefit of the child.”