A special Father’s Day message from Senator Ochoa Bogh
A Father’s Day message from Senator Ochoa Bogh
Father’s Day is a time to celebrate the fathers or father figures in our lives. Fathers play an essential role in a child’s life and positively influence our society.
Children learn through modeling behavior. Both men and women are vital to children’s emotional, social, and intellectual growth because males and females communicate, think, feel, react, respond, perceive, love, need, and appreciate differently.
Traditionally fathers have been the breadwinner, disciplinarians, and authority figures. But societal roles and boundaries have significantly shifted over the years. Today’s father has developed past the traditional model. What hasn’t changed is the role of being a dad and how dads affect and shape children.
Presently, dads are significantly involved in parenting in a more direct, intimate, and present way. In fact, a present and involved father is key to better outcomes on nearly every measure of child’s wellbeing. According to Psychology Today, “Fathers are not just helpers for mothers but are important to children in their own right. For example, children with sensitive and supportive fathers have higher levels of social competence and better peer relationships. Children whose fathers provide them with learning materials and speak with them frequently perform better in school and have more advanced language skills.”
For my son, it is critical for me that my husband is involved in all parts of his life. He is a role model for him – showing my son what it truly means to be a well-rounded man and member of our society.
Fathers and father figures must truly lead by example. They must attend the soccer games and dance recitals, take the time out of their day to sit and help with homework, or listen to their children’s frustrations from school. According to research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, “In numerous studies, positive father involvement is associated with children’s higher academic achievement; greater school readiness; stronger math and verbal skills; greater emotional security; higher self-esteem; fewer behavioral problems; and greater social competence than found among children who do not have caring, involved fathers.”
My son and my daughters are constantly watching how my husband treats others and they use that as a standard for their own lives. He is the measure by which they establish healthy male relationships. Children are always watching their parents, which is why what a father says and does matters.
Parents and parent figures must also raise their sons to understand their own worth and importance as a part of the family unit. Sons who take this responsibility seriously grow up to become good fathers. This expectation must be set at a young age, along with the standards we expect from our sons, which give them something to aspire to.
I urge everyone this Father’s Day to recognize the father and father figures in their lives with the gift of time, love, and appreciation. Be present, talk, and listen. Take the time to tell your dad or father figure just how much you appreciate his love and commitment to you over the years and how much you’ve learned from him. Let him know how much of a difference he’s made in your life.
And for those fathers who have fallen short, it is never too late to become the father you aspire to be or need to be for your children.
Happy Father’s Day to my dad, father-in-law, and husband.
Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh represents the 23rd Senate District, which includes portions of Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties.
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Trevor Montgomery, 51, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and operates Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS). Both are stringer organizations, providing breaking news coverage and community interest stories for other mainstream media organizations throughout the two regions they serve.
Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.