Do YOU say 'I love you' to your dad? A quarter of us are too embarrassed to tell our fathers how we feel

Less than a third will give their father a hug or kiss when they greet him

Nearly two-thirds of adults still borrow money from their father

Nearly half say watching TV together is how they catch up



Traditionally it is fathers who embarrass their off spring with a unique combination of corny jokes, bad dancing and over protectiveness.

But it seems children are also a source of awkwardness when it comes to the parent-child relationship.



One in four people feel too awkward to say 'I love you' to their dad, according to new research.

Nearly half (49 per cent) only greet their dad verbally when they see them, preferring not to hug, kiss or even shake hands

The study, which looked at the nation's relationship with their fathers, also revealed nearly half (49 per cent) only greet their father verbally when they see them.



Four out of nine (44 per cent) admit they don't always say 'thank you' to their dad when he has helped them, while 43 per cent reckon they should probably say 'I love you' more often.



And even though some of us can't tell our dads how we feel, we're still happy to take his cash, as researchers also found nearly two-thirds of adults (61 per cent) regularly borrow money from their father.

Those who don't say 'I Love You' to their father claim it is because it makes them feel uncomfortable.



The survey also found less than a third (28 per cent) will give their father a hug and a mere 10 per cent will greet him with kisses.

Many turn to their dad for advice on things like career paths and even sex- as well borrowing money from him

Women (51 per cent) are more than twice as likely to give their father a hug and kiss when saying hello compared to men (23 per cent).



Social media is also impacting how we communicate with our fathers, with 16 per cent opting for Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as a way to chat.



And nearly half (47 per cent) say watching telly with their parent is how they catch up with him.



When asked how dad has helped out over the years, it seems that he is viewed as a never-ending cash supply with 61 per cent regularly borrowing money from the 'Bank of Dad'.



Other ways dads are likely to help smooth things over include being there when his kids are feeling down (49 per cent), giving career advice (39 per cent), picking his kids up from a party (38 per cent) plus giving sex and relationships advice (six per cent).

Social media is also impacting how we communicate with dad, with 16 per cent opting for Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as a way to chat

Psychologist and Wilkinson Sword - who conducted the survey- spokesperson, Anjula Mutanda, said: 'There is a lot of love for dads, however, these results identify how awkward and uncomfortable Brits can feel when it comes to actually directly telling their dads that they love them.



'Young children generally tend to express love and affection towards their parents more freely but, from the pre-teens onwards, the hugs and the 'I love yous' between parent and child can diminish.



'As time goes by, we can then fall out of the habit of saying 'I love you'. The longer this goes on, the more avoidant we can become.'

Anjula added: 'The good news is, the more we say 'I love you', the easier and more natural it becomes to express it.

