I wouldn't limit the learning to their younger years. I've been taken aback lately as myself and extended family have been connected online. As my children are growing and maturing, I'm realizing that as an extended family much of what we share reflects off one another. Not in an outdoing manner, but in a devotion to memory making. My former therapist, one session, as I described a discussion with my oldest, mentioned that it's conversation that is a key factor in their emotional development. "Keep talking," he said of my relationship with them.
My own father, lags in communication and it feels tortuous in the moment. It's my pain. I shall not pass that onto this next generation. Certainly, disappointment and struggles are part of life, yet this pain I've felt goes well beyond that.
Maybe look into healthy attachment as you delve into mirroring?
It's good to want to overcome this before taking that step into fatherhood. One of my cousins makes a fine example of a father despite his past.