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Personal experience of divorce on children
Personal experience of divorce on children
The impact of absent fathers
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A Fathers Struggle
A Fight for Fathers Can Save Our Children and Improve societal issues. Parenting is no easy task, especially when it comes to shared custody and disagreements with the ex; but when did mothers become judge and Jury? The way fathers are treated is unfathomable to me; being a divorced mother myself, I would not dream of keeping our children from their father. You may have previously heard stories of fathers treated less than fair when it comes to their children. Struggling to obtain what should be equal rights for their young. Unless you have experienced in full, the hardships these dads go through, you probably don’t really understand how detrimental this is to society. Taking children away from their loving father has severe
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Fatherless children suffer many issues effecting society. Edward Kruk, PH.D is an associate professor of social work and specializes in child and family policy. In 2012, Kruk wrote an article in psychology today that extensively describes the effects of absent father homes on society. Kruk states, “Children need both parents, and parents need the support of social institutions in regard to being there for their kids”. Without this, children are at risk of developing a large array of problems that become a detriment to …show more content…
A report from the University of Birmingham, called Dad and Me concludes “father deficit is a public health issue of the academic scale. In Fatherless America, David Blankenhorn calls this crisis “the most destructive trend of our generation.” Kruk acknowledges that divorced fathers in particular are devalued, disparaged, and forcefully disengaged from their children’s lives, causing them to basically give up. Fathers are overwhelmed and sometimes even scared to fight in fear of being exploited. “We ignore the problem of father absence to our peril. Of perhaps greatest concern is the lack of response from our lawmakers and policymakers, who pay lip service to the paramount importance of the best interests of the child, yet turn a blind eye to father absence, ignoring the vast body of research on the dire consequences to children’s well-being”
The concepts that Kathleen Genson discusses reinforces the analysis Kramer presented in Chapter 4 “The Family and Intimate Relationships” of The Sociology of Gender. First and foremost, both authors would agree that family is a structure that institutionalizes and maintains gender norms. Both authors would also agree that “families tend to be organized around factors that the individual members cannot control.” In Genson’s chapter “Dilemmas of Involved Fatherhood,” the most prominent forces are the economy and social expectations, both listed and explained by Kramer. Genson’s explanation of how it is unfeasible for men to withdraw from the workforce and focus more time and energy on being involved fathers is an example of the economic factors.
The role of a father is more than just another parent at home (Popenoe, 1996). Having a father, the male biological parent in a child’s life is important because it brings a different type of parenting that cannot be replicated by anyone else (Stanton, 2010). Fathers who are present and active in a child’s life provide great benefits to a developing child (Popenoe, 1996). Having a father brings a different kind of love. The love of the father is more expectant and instrumental, different from the love of a mother (Stanton, as cited in Pruett, 1987).
"Father absence and the welfare of children." Coping with divorce, single parenting, and remarriage: A risk and resiliency perspective (1999): 117-145.
Sigmund Freud nailed it when he said “I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.” There are numerous Consequences regarding the issue of fatherlessness in America today, many of which have lasting impacts. Poverty is one major issue that can result from a fatherless home; a recent study showed that children in father-absent homes are almost four times more likely to be poor. In addition as of 2011, 12 percent of children in married-couple families were living in poverty, compared to 44 percent of children in mother-only families. That means that children
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.
“The Father” by Carolyn Osborn is a story about Darwin and Casey, a couple who meet and begin a whirlwind love affair. This love affair leads to an unexpected pregnancy. Casey, the mother, leaves when the baby is just one month old only to return when the child is three years old. Soon, Darwin is caught in a court battle for custody of a son. Two days before the court date, Darwin discovers he is not the biological father of the child. This makes no difference to Darwin as he has loved and cared for the child since he was born. The central idea of this story is that sometimes the best parent isn’t always the biological parent.
The changing of American families has left many families broken and struggling. Pauline Irit Erera, an associate professor at the University of Washington School of Social Work, wrote the article “What is a Family?”. Erera has written extensively about family diversity, focusing on step-families, foster families, lesbian families, and noncustodial fathers. Rebecca M. Blank, a professor of economics at Northwestern University, where she has directed the Joint Center for Poverty Research, wrote the article “Absent Fathers: Why Don't We Ever Talk About the Unmarried Men?”. She served on the Council of Economic Advisors during the Clinton administration. Andrew J. Cherlin, a professor of sociology at Johns Hopkins University wrote the article “The Origins of the Ambivalent Acceptance of Divorce”. She is also the author of several other books on the changing profiles of American family life. These three texts each talk about the relationship between the parent and the child of a single-parent household. They each discuss divorce, money/income they receive, and the worries that come with raising a child in a single-parent household.
In David Blankenhorn’s book written in 1995, he brings to light what he calls “America’s fundamental problem”: our culture of fatherlessness. Our modern day view of fathers is that they are unnecessary both in society and in the upbringing of a child. Blankenhorn argues the contrary: the only way to solve the multitude of social problems present in America is to address the common denominator, the decline of fathers and the shrinking importance of fatherhood. Blankenhorn’s book is split into three parts: Part I: Fatherlessness, Part II: The Cultural Script and Part III: Fatherhood. In Fatherlessness, he provides the history of fatherhood and includes statistics that help to illustrate the transition of the father from head of the household to being “almost entirely a Sunday institution” (pg. 15).
In the Fatherhood Course that I teach, this issue of son-father business usually comes up in the first class. We might be talking about why the men decided to enroll in the course, and after a few guys give the standard reasons, and others make some quips, the mood palpably shifts to serious as one father speaks, lower lip quivering: "You want to know why I am here? I'll tell you why I am here. I am here so that my little son Timmy will not feel as bad about me when he's grown up as I do about my own dad." The man's words hit the room like a hurricane, and soon the theme of father son business is on every man's lips. The fathers then become sons and talk about the grief, pain and bitterness they feel toward their own fathers.
good parenting abilities are vital to maintain a viable relationship with children. The value of a father in
Dr. Haim Ginott, a renowned Psychologist, mentor and a teacher once remarked, “Children are like wet cement; whatever falls on them makes an impression.” Thus, the effects of absent fathers on children may in fact, shape their perception of the world around them. Even though developing a stronger relationship with one parent is an effect of absenteeism fathers, it also comes with the challenges of engaging in early sexual activities, diminished cognitive development and poor school performance, which are effects exhibited by many daughters.
The Family structure has changed significantly in the last fifty years. With higher percentages of marriage ending in divorce, and higher rates of childbearing out of wedlock, single parent families are increasing rapidly. “Seventy percent of all the children will spend all or part of their lives in a single-parent household.” (Dowd) Studies have shown that the children of these families are affected dramatically, both negatively and positively. Women head the majority of single- parent families and as a result, children experience many social problems from growing up without a father. Some of these problems include lack of financial support, and various emotional problems by not having a father around, which may contribute to problems later in life. At the same time, children of single-parent homes become more independent because they learn to take care of themselves, and rely on others to do things for them.
A father is someone who protects, loves, supports and raises his children, whether they are biologically related or not. Every single person living on the Earth has a biological father. These biological fathers are supposed to take the responsibility of being a father because they did help bring a child into this world. One of the main responsibilities of a father is providing the child with the necessities of life, which include food, shelter, and clothes. Not only is a father responsible for the physical aspect but the emotional aspect as well. Children need to feel loved, cared for, and emotional support from their parents. A child needs to be reassured, so a father must show his affection, both physically and emotionally. A father needs to be involved in his children’s life. He needs to be a problem solver, playmate, provider, preparer, and he has to have principles. A father has to pr...
The role of a father in his child’s life extends past the knowledge of far too many, and can oftentimes be eclipsed by the role of the mother. Although the mother’s role is essential and greatly valued in a child’s life and development, the father plays a significant role as well. No mother can fill the father’s place in a child’s heart, for fathers nurture and play differently than a mother. Several studies show that an attentive and highly involved father is critical, especially in the early stages of a child’s life. The absence of a father during this stage can lead to “impaired social and behavioral abilities in adults” (Robert, 2013).
The research supports the theory of a father’s absence having negative effects on the child’s life. Nearly one third of