The Fatherhood Across Cultures : A Family Responsibility For Most Cultures

Cookston, Jeffrey. "Six Obstacles to Father Involvement-and How to Overcome Them." Greater Good. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2015. .

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

What is a fathers “responsibility”? Is it to nurture, or is it to provide, maybe even he could do both? In the novel Your Fathers, Where Are They, and the Prophets, Do They Live Forever? Dave Eggers, describes trivial emotional and mental repercussions that occur when there is an absence of a father figure. Sons and daughters alike, any disconnection with a meaningful individual, supposedly relatable in blood, would bring question and concern. A fathers’ relationship and support can be beneficial to any child’s growth. Giving children a solid basis of what kinds of responsibilities go along with being an adult and showing them compassion individualism and what it means to “be a man” is important.

Lastly, Vogel, Bradley, Raikes, Boller, and Shears (2006) conducted a study to explore whether or not a fathers presence in their children’s

Standing Tall It is the human condition to be dependent upon others; this has always been so. Humans look up to siblings, best friends, grandparents, and even teachers but the most sought out dependency in life is in the form of a father. Much is expected from the male gender, but moreso of fathers. A father’s predetermined role in society is to make the decisions for, protect, and keep order in his home.

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.

Throughout this entire I have learned so much about men, and the variety of behaviors they possess in different social contexts. Out of all the ideas I learned I found one extremely important and interesting, father-child relationship. Specifically, the differences between a traditional and an involved dad. I always knew that not every parenting style was the same among fathers, and how some were more involved than others. I never thought there was a category of these two types of fathers. After breaking down each category, a lot of it made so much sense. The most important thing between the two was the emphasis on how the traditional dad tends to deflect the responsibility of parenting, while the involved dad has a committed

In the 1950s, fathers were considered the breadwinners of the family, as a result, they were rarely home and when they were their role in the family was to discipline children. There wasn’t a drastic change in the messages of fatherhood from the 1950s to the 1960s. Although we began to observe fathers more actively involved in the caring of their children they were still not the primary caregivers. An example is the first episode of Leave it to Beaver in which Opie’s father is constantly trying to cheer Opie. This is an indication that fathers were beginning to be compassionate towards their children. The majority of children with absent mothers were raised by nannies while fathers continued to be the breadwinners. Nonetheless, the messages about fatherhood in the 1970s were different from the 50s and 60s in that single fathers began becoming the primary caregivers of their children—drifting away from the idea that women are the only sex capable of caring for children. The current media entertainment I consume certainly gives messages about fatherhood as well. Fathers are definitely involved with their children than has ever been portrayed on television before. Nonetheless, fathers tend to approach their daughters and sons differently. Fathers tend to be more gentle with their daughters and vice versa with their

When a father is not in his child’s life, the absence plays a strong role in many societal matters like

In the 1950’s Talcott Parsons, a renowned sociologist described the mothers role as ‘expressive’ and the fathers role as ‘instrumental’. This means that the mother offers emotional security for her children so they can have strong healthy relationships with others . Whereas the father acts as a link in the mind of the child ‘s mother/home life and life after high school.

While fathers tend to have an increased pressure to provide for their family, mothers often times are seen as homebuilders. That stereotype has poorly affected many families, including my own. An article by Richard Dorment entitled “Why Men Still Can’t Have It All” deals with the issue of a man’s responsibility in a family and what their roles within that are. In my own experience, I was able to relate to a lot of the article due to my relationship with my father. My father was around the house a lot less than my mother and in doing so, it weakened my relationship with him. Because of my dad not finishing his degree, and his need to provide financial footing for my family, he was forced to spend less time at home. We must work to eradicate this role for the sake of every member of the family.

. 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

McLanahan, Sara; Tach, Laura; & Schneider, Daniel. “The Causal Effects of Father Absence.” Annual Review of Sociology 39.1 (2013): 399-427. Academic Search Premier. Web. 5 April 2014.

Fatherhood has rapidly evolved over the years. Before the mother of the child was the most important player in the game of pregnancy. Now, the fathers have taken on just as big of a role as the mothers (Fägerskiöld, 2008). One of the

By having a father in the home it enables the child to see a masculine role inside the home. The father’s role is not to act as an authoritarian for the mother for punishment, but to also give the child love.