Dr. Robert Spaulding speaks to about 50 fathers of students at the Early Learning Center about the importance of being a good role model to their young children.

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — Educators always say that parental involvement is a key component of student success. Whether it is because of work or other obligations, fathers may miss out on opportunities to be a part of their children’s learning.

The Baldwin County Early Learning Center recently held a breakfast program for fathers to come out, enjoy a meal and listen to guest speaker Dr. Robert Spaulding discuss the importance of a father’s involvement in a student’s school life.

The 50 men in attendance were treated to breakfast from Bojangle’s and a song from some of the ELC students before Spaulding took the podium.

“The greatest single gift a man can give his children is his attention,” Spaulding said. “It seems so simple, but somehow it gets lost in the simplicity.”

The guest speaker operates his own mental health consulting firm called Pathways Management. He discussed some important lessons that he took from watching his father while growing up.

“I learned a lot from my daddy,” Spaulding said. “I learned from him that I first of all needed to get an education. I learned that people would judge me by my actions and react to me in accordance to my attitude. I learned the importance of reliability and trust.”

Other than talking about the importance of being involved in a child’s school life, the featured speaker also discussed how to be a good role model with both words and actions. He cited that children “steal” behaviors not only with their ears, but also their eyes.

“If actions do speak a lot then the words that we live and the actions that we take should represent something,” Spaulding said. “Let them steal that. Let them watch that gentlemen.”

Once he finished fathers were free to head out into the school and spend a little time with their young ones.

“I wanted to talk about the importance of the role a father has because of the statistics that show those children who are fatherless have greater chances to go to prison and have behavioral problems,” Spaulding said after the program. “It’s something about having that male figure that makes that family even stronger whether it’s your father or just a mentor.”