Fatherlessness In The Father

The role of the father, a male figure in a child’s life is a very crucial role that has been diminishing over the years. An absent father can be defined in two ways; the father is physically not present, or the father is physically present, but emotionally present. To an adolescent, a father is an idolized figure, someone they look up to (Feud, 1921), thus when such a figure is an absent one, it can and will negatively affect a child’s development. Many of the problems we face in society today, such as crime and delinquency, poor academic achievement, divorce, drug use, early pregnancy and sexual activity can be attributed to fathers being absent during adolescent development (Popenoe, 1996; Whitehead, 1993). The percentage of

Although single parenthood is on the rise in homes today, children still often have a father role in their life. It does not matter who the part is filled by: a father, uncle, older brother, grandfather, etc...; in almost all cases, those relationships between the father (figure) and child have lasting impacts on the youth the rest of their lives. In “I Wanted to Share My Father’s World,” Jimmy Carter tells the audience no matter the situation with a father, hold onto every moment.

According to the U.S. Census, one in three children, or approximately fifth teen million, are growing up without their father. This is what I would consider an epidemic because the numbers continue to rise yearly. With the numbers continuing to grow, American children continue to suffer. It is critical that a father is positively active in their child or children’s lives because father’s provide a sense of safety, mothers cannot teach a child everything that a child needs to know, and households gain balance when the father is present. I will now better explain.

There is no denial that fathers are integral members of our society. According to the US. Census Beurea, 1 in 4 children in the country live without fathers. This lack of domestic stability leaves them disproportionately susceptible to substance abuse, gang violence, premature parenthood, poverty, and suicide. The question then remains: “What defines a father?”.

Since the time of Adam and Eve, parents have played a major role in upbringing children and reproducing more generations. In most societies, the father has been the backbone of the family and played a major role in providing support and stability to the family. Yet, the role of the father differs from a family to another. While some fathers focus only on feeding and educating their children, others focus on every aspect of their children’s lives. The father’s leadership often drives the children to have a close relationship with the father. Sons often see the father as their role model and build a father-son relationship. Yet, the father-son relationship can be either weak or strong depends on the father’s concept of parenthood. The

A father is a very important figure in a child’s life. They help raise and guide their child so they can have a successful life in the future. Father’s always want what’s best for their kids and most of the time they will sacrifice what they have for their children. Without fathers, children today would be out of control and running amok. This is evident in the present and is becoming more prevalent around the world. Fathers are needed in child’s life so they can help educate their children on a respectful lifestyle. There are long term consequences when a father a is not there for their child.

The mother, who often gets custody, will have to seek a job out side of the home. This is because child support is inadequate. The children make more demands on her because their father is absent. She has little time for a social life. Finances are strained. Fathers also have a large burden to bear. He may be seeing his children, but in all probability, they will not seek him out for advice, help, or support. Recently there has been an increase in the number of fathers who are awarded custody of their children, 25 percent in the last three years and 75 percent in the last ten years, and is continuing to rise. In fact, families headed by a single father are growing faster than any other family group in the nation. (“manslife”)

“I understand their sense of abandonment, and I empathize with the anger and resentment they feel when their fathers point to the material wealth and educational opportunities they gave their children and think these things somehow entitle them to be called ‘good fathers.’” (Brott, 2009, page 1). This means that most fathers believe that providing wealth and schooling opportunities enough and he doesn’t need to do anything else for his child. Even though this isn’t physical abuse, they are still mentally messing with them by not interacting with their child. A father should do more than just provide wealth and educational opportunities. He should be making memories with his child and not make their entire childhood a living

In today’s ever changing world of family problems and instability, fathers are becoming a very scarce commodity. There is a major crisis brewing in the United States and the family unit is coming under siege. (According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 24 four million children live without a father, that’s one out of every three children living in a home with one of the supporting pillars in a family.) With the father absence in these child lives, they become more prone to various problems in life later on. Everything from dropping out of school to going to prison, the chances of this happening increase dramatically.

A man from Chicago, Illinois named Sheldon Smith started a program to help fathers and give them the needed skills to successfully raise their children. Smith speaks from experience when he says that not having a father-figure while growing up made him the person that he was when he was “17, he was charged with robbery and went to prison.” Ever since he started this program, he has helped “more than 200 young fathers” by “[teaching] life skills, such as financial literacy.”

. The quintessential Father figure of the early 20th century was characterized by being the main breadwinner and disciplinarian of the family. Although he viewed himself as a role model, he had very little involvement in the nurturing and caregiving of his children. However, as soon as this idea about the role of the father became the norm, it was already undergoing an immense amount of change. With the growing acceptance of feminist ideals, gender roles have become more neutral, and economic trends have brought higher levels of financial equality to woman over the years. Subsequently, contemporary parenting has begun to redefine the

Furstenberg begins his analyzation by asserting that the once famed male provider role is dead. Contemporary fathers can now choose to increase their involvement in their child’s life or altogether abandon it. In the future, according to Furstenberg, the population of the male provider will soon be endangered and “its

The most abused social problem is absent fathers. When a child’s father dies, there is no quick fix unless the mother gets remarried. Whereas if the father is alive and knows about the child, but disregards to care for or recognize his kid, is what is being abused. A life without a father is barren. Two parents are better than one without a doubt. If someone were to believe that anything positive arrives from fatherless raised children, my thought is, why? How do you? How do you suppose a kid enter the world from an absent fathered family, and conform in a relatively masculine world? How do you come to believe that being raised without a father doesn’t harm a kid’s objective on life? Do you think that kid will acquire an equal amount of love,

As the paper states, raising kids alone is hard work. Sharing the equal responsibility is appealing and many would argue in the best interest of the children. However, a fallacy lies in the assertion that fathers who do not receive sole or shared custody are unable to fulfill their role as a father. The paper supports this contention by making the argument that fathers are often denied access to child-rearing and that it has a negative impact to the emotional well-being and overall development of the child or children.

In the Western world nearly half the marriages end up in divorce breaking the backbone structure of the family. The two primary attachments of a child, the mother’s love and security and the father’s engagement in challenging experiences, are both essential in the healthy emotional development (La Guardia, Nelson & Lertora, 2014). Children of divorcees or unwed single parents are robbed of the opportunity to go to sleep in the assurance of both mother and father in the home. In the U.S. an estimated 25 million children live in families without their father (U.S. Census, America’s, 2015). Growing up in fatherless families is an epidemic that has considerable negative financial, psychosocial, educational and physical effects on the children’s lives (Blackenhorn, 1995; National Center for Fathering, The consequences, n.d.). Father absence is a major contributor to delinquency, premature sexuality, teen pregnancy, depression and substance abuse (Popenoe, 1996; Carlson, 2006 & National Center for Fathering, The consequences, n.d.). The research focuses on children without biological fathers, but does not consider the strength of family community, other influential male figure in the child’s life or what cultural ideals the family enforces. Nonetheless, the recognition of the important role of both parents is evident and researchers urge for the awareness to the negative consequence of the absence of one parent. The developmental effects of father absence are different in boys