Tuesday 21 June 2016

Strengthening Families through Responsible Fatherhood

Fatherlessness has become a growing crisis of family life in the United States today.  It is one of the primary challenges families face in modern society.  In response to this need, there is a major and growing initiative to teach and develop Responsible Fatherhood behaviors and skills to American dads.  These Fatherhood programs are designed to teach and support dads in their efforts to fulfill their vital roles as an important primary influence in the lives of their children.

The Responsible Fatherhood movement and initiates developed from it are designed to help fathers create nurturing, loving relationships with their children and to be actively involved in their upbringing and their lives.  All major research on the subject shows that children do far better when their fathers are present and active in their lives.  With loving and involved fathers children are more likely to have healthy self-esteem, be successful in school, use pro-social behaviors, and avoid risky behaviors such as truancy, drug use, and criminal acts.  Studies show when dads aren't a part of their kids' lives, they are more likely to use drugs, drop out of school, run afoul of the law, and become teenage parents themselves.

There are more than 55 organizations around the nation dedicated to teaching and providing Responsible Fatherhood activities.  The curriculum used in these Responsible Fatherhood programs is intended to help fathers effectively meet the goal of fulfilling their roles as:

• Parents  
• Relationship and Emotional Partners
• Wage earners and Workers

by learning how to:

• Improve their relationships with the mothers of their children
• Become better parents
• Get job training so they can contribute to the financial
  well-being of their children

Programs even cover down-to-earth topics such as managing anger and conflict (both off and on the job site) as well as issues of race and racism. The responsible fatherhood movement also encourages healthy motherhood and encourages stronger community supports for fathers and mothers to grow as emotionally healthy parents.  The overall core goal is to strengthen our urban communities by assisting fathers and their families achieve core stability and economic success.

Here amid the dawning years of the 21st century, our growing awareness of the importance of successful father-child relationships has the potential to promote and produce children with greater empathy towards others, higher verbal skills and increased curiosity to learn and obtain higher scores for cognitive competence in basic educational subjects.  By helping families and fathers achieve economic success and all-round stability, the goal of strengthening urban communities can be met. Please visit this site for more info.

President Obama, who himself grew up without his father as a part of his life, stresses to fathers through the country that the most important job he has is being a dad.   He has joined fathers across the nation in a fatherhood pledge that states that the men who sign it will do everything they can to be there for their children and for other young people without fathers involved in their lives.

The pledge is simple:

•I pledge to renew my commitment to family and community.

•I recognize the positive impact that fathers, mothers, mentors, and other responsible adults can have on our children and youth, and pledge to do all I can to provide children in my home and throughout my community the encouragement and support they need to fulfill their potential.

The President's Fatherhood Pledge encourages two things: for fathers to be involved in the lives of their children, and for men to be positive role models and mentors for the children in their lives and communities without fathers.