Working Thesis: In African American families, some fathers don’t understand the importance of being present and participating in their children’s lives. The intention of this essay is to show that an absent father can extensively affect their children mentally and physically. It will be debated that inattentive fathers should be willing to make a change for the lives of their children.
Blow, Charles M. "Black Dads Are Doing Best of All." The New York Times. The New York Times, 08 June 2015. Web. Mr. Charles Blow, the author of Fire Shut Up in My Bones, is a New York Tomes Op-Ed columnist. In his opinion piece Black Dads Are Doing Best of All, he clearly states that African American fathers are doing better than any other race in living in
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Statistics show that most absent fathers are serial fathers meaning that the father and mother holds a romantic relationship. There are twenty four million children that are raised in homes without their biological father. “Family churning” is when a couple splits in a family and the father moves out and a new man moves in. Fathers have an effect on children that makes them tend to be more academically stronger than those without a father. Not only does absent fathers cause short term problems but they also can cause the child to have long term problems like drug use. Children who are not in contact with their fathers are more likely to be treated for behavioral and emotional problems. Also girls are more likely to become a pregnant teen if the father is not pregnant. As concluded it is said that children’s relationships will be healthy if the mother and father have a content relationship. I can use this source by using the data and statistics provided in the …show more content…
He is also the author of five books including The Hunger of the Wolf and How Shakespeare Changed Everything. Stephen Marche is arguing that American fatherlessness is a national disaster. Fatherlessness effects suicide, incarceration risk and mental health issues. It is said that many new age fathers have fathering relatively easy compared to fathering in the 1960s. The new age fathers nurture and provide food and shelter and plays with the baby. The role of a father is to be there for the child physically and mentally. This article could help me in my essay because it goes into the history of fathering and the vast changes throughout the
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).
This illustrates the importance of black fatherhood and how it particularly plays a role in the development of the child. The significance of the African American father figure is further emphasized in “Of the Passing of the first Born” in Du Bois’s The Souls of Black
Among the young, it seems like there is an epidemic of bad behaviors. Teenagers aren’t finishing high school, they are getting knocked up, and going to prison/jail. In his “Pound Cake Speech” Bill Cosby addresses these issues to the African American community. His speech was an emotional view of parenting these days. Bill Cosby argues that the 50 percent dropout rate in schools is because of parenting, children not speaking English grammatically is because of parenting, children having children is because of parenting, and children carrying guns and ending up in prison is because of parenting. The parenting he says, of the lower and middle economic classes of African Americans is the reason why these things are happening. He blames poor parenting for these issues. However, Cosby fails to take into account that these issues are wider than poor parenting. African American children face these problems not due to the lack of care and concern from their parents, but due to the lack of resources that their parents can use to provide for them.
Fatherless has been one of the most important challenges and epidemics in our generation. The effects of growing up...
No father is perfect. Every father has his own strengths and weaknesses. Each father shows his love for his children in different ways and at times, well hidden, at other times, obvious. In Chaim Potok’s thought-provoking book, The Chosen, three fathers named David Malter, Reb Saunders, and Roger Merrit appear in the story. Each one of them shows the striking differences among the ways they raise their children. Just because one father’s way of rearing up a child seems different from another’s does not necessarily mean it is wrong. In their own unique ways, all three fathers show the importance of fulfilling the role as a father.
In this article, the editors discussed the social trends and how they can change in nature of father involvement. They tested how children today will make their expectations taking upon a role of mother and father. Increase in father absence is associated with poor school achievement, reduced involvement in labor force, early childbearing, and high risk-taking behaviors. In addition, boys without fathers will experience problems with their sexual orientation and gender identity, school performance, psychosocial adjustment, and self-control. The editors differentiated the girls by how affected they were without fathers.
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.
Toppo, Greg, “Obama urges absent fathers to re-engage in children's lives”. USA Today. 19 Feb, 2011. http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-06-22-obamafathersday22_ST_N.htm
(Ed.). The role of the father in child development (fifth edition), pp. 551-557. New York:
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).
Since the beginning of time, fathers have had a profound effect on their child’s development. Over the years, the norm for traditional family dynamics of having a father figure in the household has changed drastically, and so did the roles of the parents. It is not as common as it used to be to have a father or father figure in the home. In this day and age, women are more likely to raise children on their own and gain independence without the male assistance due to various reasons. The most significant learning experience and development of a person’s life takes place in their earlier years when they were children. There are many advantages when there is a mother and father combined in a
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 attendant 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). But what is the role of the father? This paper discusses the role of the expectant father, the birth experience for him, the transition into fatherhood, and the rise of single fathers.
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.
Prior to the period of slavery, the majority African family structure was in the realm of 2-parent households and was the main importance for everyone. However, during the period of slavery and beyond, the 2-parent household has been transformed and its looming effects are still in place today. The effects include the phenomenal increase in female-headed households and also the increase in households with individual living by himself or herself. African-American family structure has been inconsistent, and it has a tremendous impact on the children. Statistics have shown that African American males growing up without a father are more likely to end up in prison (Krampe & Newton, 2012). It is important, as the children are dependent on the family in terms of obtaining success in the future. In addition, the single-parent mother ends up taking new roles as mother and father for the child. This topic has many aspects, which showcase the prominent influence in
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...