If you have a bad relationship with your father, you need to take steps to repair it. Even if he's already dead. Healing this open wound becomes urgent when you’re about to become a father yourself because your children will notice. Through you, it will affect them negatively, even if you can’t understand exactly how.
You might think this is impossible, but there is a simple first step anyone can take, regardless of who is at fault.
Write your father a “respect letter.”