The Gift of Fatherhood

Click on the post title to read the full article in Mormon Times. The focus of this article is the effect of fathers on sons, but there are plenty of others that emphasize the need for fathers in the lives of daughters. Not just part-time visitors, a few weeks a year; but full-time, active and loving fathers. What kind of mother would deny her children this because of her own insecurities and problems? Why would she not sacrifice her own comfort (or at least get help with these misdirected, irrational fears) for the benefit of her children?

And, how can a good father NOT fight to have his children in his life - full-time?

I don't understand it.

"Statistics show that 85 precent of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from a fatherless home; 90 percent of all homeless runaway children are from a fatherless home; 80 percent of rapists motivated by displaced anger come from a fatherless home; 70 percent of juveniles in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes; and 85 percent of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a fatherless home....

"One of the most underestimated causes of crime is fatherlessness. Children without fathers are five times more likely to commit suicide, ... nine times more likely to drop out of high school, 10 times more likely to abuse chemical substances, ... and 20 more times likely to end up in prison." ("The Root Cause of Crime," David Macrae, Le Quebecois Libre, Nov. 19, 2009.) In a world where more and more boys are growing up in single-parent households, these are deeply troubling statistics.