Even though I am a family physician who has delivered hundreds of babies, when my first son was born, I was just like every other new dad in the hospital – nervous, overwhelmed, joyful and incredulous at the wonder of birth. Three days later, reality set in.

My wife delivered by Caesarean section. She was exhausted and sore. Every two to three hours, around the clock, she’d be up breast-feeding, and I was up, too. The dynamic of our family changed overnight, and as I sought to be as helpful and supportive as possible, I learned quickly that being a parent is the most important job in the world and the most demanding.

Our society tends to gloss over the absolutely critical role that fathers have when a new child enters the family. We tend to talk about moms and babies, and we often overlook the importance of fathers as the new family comes into being.

I have seen too many dads who, because of the demands of work, have had to leave the hospital before their baby was even born. I’ve seen how dads miss out on learning about newborn and infant care during those first days in the hospital because they have to be at work. I’ve seen the necessities of work take precedence over the necessities of family too often.

As we celebrate Father’s Day, it’s time to acknowledge that being a father brings with it the responsibility not only to provide for a new child, but the responsibility to be present in that child’s life right from the very first moment.

I was lucky. When each of my sons was born, I was able to stay home for 12 weeks, knowing I had a job to go back to. My wife, too, took leave as we both tended to the constant needs of a newborn and, later, of a newborn and toddler. I had never imagined how difficult yet important it was to sleep, cook, do the laundry and make time for one another.

Time for family must become a priority and the norm if we are to have stronger families and healthier children.

Every day, I see the foundations of family being eroded when fathers are unable to take time for their children and their families. Mothers need supportive fathers as they begin to breast-feed and heal from giving birth. Families need supportive fathers as parents and siblings are faced with the needs of a newborn. Older children need fathers who are educated about their health and are present and involved, especially when a child is recovering from an illness. Anyone working with children and families knows that children do better when parents are actively participating in their children’s health care.

We can support dads this Father’s Day by enabling them to be good providers and good fathers. That means allowing all fathers to take time off from work, without fear of losing their jobs, when they need to be with their children and their families when a health issue arises.

The state Senate came close to making that happen when it passed family leave insurance legislation earlier this year. That legislation would have allowed individuals to take up to five weeks of paid leave to care for a newborn, newly adopted child or ill child, spouse or parent. To avoid throwing families into a financial crisis, workers would receive a modest $250 a week after a one-week waiting period. Regrettably, the legislation stalled in the House.

That has to change. Too many fathers face losing their jobs and their livelihoods if they take time away from work. Too many fathers can’t be in the delivery room when their child is being born or beside the hospital bed of an ailing adolescent.

Rather than an either-or choice between work and family, the choice can be for work and for family. With paid family leave, dads can meet their family obligations, and their employers benefit by having men at work who are focused and productive.

This Father’s Day let’s give dads more than a gift in a box. Let’s give them a different gift, one of being present in the lives of their children, wives and parents during those critically important times when a baby is born or a medical situation arises. Let’s give them the gift of family.

Dr. D. Jay Fathi is chief of the Department of Family Medicine at Swedish Medical Center and a member of the Washington Academy of Family Physicians.