Why children need their fathers.

Statistics.

75% of adolescent patients in substance abuse centres are from fatherless homes.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 18.4 million children, 1 in 4, live without a biological, step, or adoptive father in the home.

80% of rapists with anger problems come from fatherless homes.

63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes.

STATS SA: Almost 70% of black children live without a biological father at home.

85% of all youths in prison come from fatherless homes – 20 times the average. (Fulton Co. Georgia, Texas Dept. of Correction)

Fatherless children have a higher chance of suffering from anxiety and feelings of depression.

Why is a father important?

The statistics mentioned above show what could happen and what does happen when a father is not present in the lives of his children, particularly his sons.

Coming from a fatherless home can contribute to a child having more emotional problems, such as anxiety and feelings of depression. Being a present father is crucial to a child’s success.

A father has to teach his children how to be honourable and upstanding men and women.

He has to show his daughter how a woman should be treated by loving her mother openly and with all his heart and then treating her the same way. Dad is setting the standard for the men she accepts into her life.

He has to teach his son how to be a man of value and everything that entails. A father has to prepare his son for manhood by equipping him with all the fundamentals of masculinity and leading him through the process.

If you don’t lead your son someone else will.

Transitioning from a boy to a man is difficult and confusing by itself but even more so without the guidance of a father.

A father’s God-given duty is to encourage, love, guide, discipline, provide and protect his family.

Children will learn the most by watching their parents and will adopt and apply the example set. They turn out the way they do largely because of their parents.

85% of youth in prison are there because of fatherlessness. These young adults and adolescents were without guidance and then turned to the world to guide them and that led them to strong masculine figures e.g. gang leaders who gave them an identity.

If a father doesn’t lead his children, someone else will and that is terrifying.

The societal attack on the Patriarchy.

This is what happens when the radical left attacks the nuclear family and patriarchy. They try to remove the father from his rightful position as head of the household.

To be clear and fair … this isn’t just a problem caused by the ‘left’. This has been a problem for a long time. It is a vicious cycle of bad fathers who neglect their children and then they turn into fathers who do the same.

Both parents are forced to work because of the bad economy and that makes way for neglect to creep in.

Whether Dad has walked out on you or is building an empire, neglect is neglect.

Even though it may be unintentional it still has that negative effect.

Some members of the world that don’t reside with us straight-thinking folk believe that women can lead a family like a father can or that a dad should stay home while his wife works a 9-5.

Traditional gender roles are the only ones that work.

A mother is a wonderful thing. Without her, the house isn’t a home and her absence is as tangible as her presence. Nothing can replace her love and care. She is not made to fight on the front lines for her family, she is not meant to be scarred, bruised and bloodied.

She waits for her man the strong and resilient warrior to come home. She helps take off and clean his armour, tends to his wounds and encourages him to keep fighting the good fight.

A good father is irreplaceable. He is the one who will instil into his children the morals and principles that they should live by. He leads by example and strives to live righteously and according to God’s word.

A man, a father is not meant to stay home, he is a hunter. He provides. He is a warrior, a savage and a servant. He is fulfilled by providing and protecting. He cares not to gather scares along the way. They are trophies, a testament to his work.

That is why men and women are complementary opposites. Dad can go out knowing that his children are in good hands and mom can stay home knowing that they are taken care of.

This is the goal of marriage. It is a beautiful thing.

The father is the fixed point, the foundation on which the family unit is built. A strong father who leads his family physically, spiritually and mentally means a strong family.

A father is made to bear the brunt of life so that his family doesn’t have to. A father can handle the stresses of life. That is why men have broad shoulders, to lift the weight of the world off their families.

Women aren’t meant to do that. They are meant to do the most important job in the world: Nurture and raise the next generation of men and women and make the house a happy home.

If you as a husband put the stresses of being the provider on your wife you will lose the woman you once knew. She will turn into a more masculine and unloving woman because she has to fight because her husband is not on the front lines protecting his family.

Dad then becomes her ‘boy’ and not her ‘man’ because she has to take care of him like a child and so she loses all respect for him. This affects the children too when they see their dad is not leading their family and taking orders from Mom as they do.

Sadly they will lose respect for him too.

The father is the head of the family, that is where he belongs and that is where he is happiest and fulfilled.

Benefits of a present father.

The father’s involvement is correlated with higher levels of sociability, confidence, and self-control in children. Children with involved fathers are less likely to act out in school or engage in risky or criminal behaviours in adolescence.

When children reach adolescence they are vulnerable because they are very impressionable. When a father is present and active in these crucial years the right foundation in the teen is solidified and they will be more confident, capable and willing to stand alone if he or she is put in that position to do the right thing.

Here are the influences a present father has on his family according to Focus on the Family:

A father’s strength can be powerful
A dad’s words can be fueling and inspirational
Hugs from a dad can be deeply comforting
A dad’s smile can instil joy and confidence
Time with a dad can be fun and productive
A dad’s physicality can be challenging
A dad’s guidance can be life-changing and foundational
A father’s correction can be life-saving and life-giving
Adventures with a dad can be exciting and memorable

If a father embodies all of these things he will have a phenomenal relationship with his children.

That is what every father wants, to have a solid relationship with his wife and kids. If he has a great relationship with his kids, his wife will see that and love him even more for it.