Countless studies have shown that growing up with a father increases boys' school performance and decreases their risk of committing a crime and abusing drugs and alcohol. Here are eight more ways dads influence boys—whether they live in the home or stay involved on a regular basis.

If you have fathered a son, you influence how he ultimately comes to define himself as a man. The image he carries of you in his soul will in some way guide his steps. He may follow in your footsteps, intentionally choose a different path, or journey through a wilderness of ambivalent feelings concerning your relationship.

“Today’s men are obsessed with money, greed and sex. We will talk about the first two, somewhat, but the last one we avoid.” So writes author Archie Wortham. Wortham believes dads need to talk to other men about the challenges they have faced or are facing as men, then they’ll be better prepared to help their sons mature.”

In a 2006 article, Orlando Sentinel columnist Kathleen Parker addressed America's "boy crisis." Many have recently drawn attention to statistics showing that boys are falling behind in school performance. Parker responded to a recent study which concluded that the problem is really more about class and race, since the problem is most severe in Hispanic, African American, and poor communities.

A deluge of recent studies makes it clear that boys are vulnerable. They are falling behind in many key areas: SAT scores, reading proficiency and college attendance; and moving ahead in some undesirable statistics: emotional disturbance, school dropout and suicide rate.

Some moments you and your son will remember forever.

You're out in the country with your fourteen-year-old son, coming back from someone's house. You pull the car over to the side of the deserted dirt road and turn off the ignition. "Dad, what's going on?" your son asks.

Sometimes—especially with sons—you have to "play hardball." If you're a father of boys, you have my prayers. They'll make you proud, but they also may make you crazy.

The greatest gift a nurturing father gives his sons is a healthy model of what it means to be a boy, a man, and a father. Boys and girls both need their father's affection. But with boys it may be harder for dads to openly show it, even those fathers and sons who spend lots of companionship time together.

Despite the movement of our culture towards androgyny, we are all well aware of the unique contributions and the unique differences between men and women, boys and girls. No matter what any clinical psychologist or researcher might say, there are distinct, observable, differences between the sexes, and I'm glad about it.

Fatherly rough-and-tumble play has many developmental benefits for children, particularly boys. Research shows that physical engagement—like wrestling, roughhousing (when not carried to an extreme) and warm, playful interaction—helps boys learn to regulate and control their behavior, deal with a range of emotions, and adapt to a variety of situations.