Fatherlessness and its Negative Effects on Boys
For those who are new to our blog, my son Jeff and I just published Tender Lions – Building the Vital Relationship Between Father and Son. As we researched about the impact of fatherlessness on boys, we were pleased to find that young fathers today are actually spending more time with their sons than the dads of a generation ago. But that seems to be where the good news ends. According to the National Center for Fathering, more than 20 million children live in a home without the physical presence of a father. Millions more have dads who are physically present, but emotionally absent.
It’s our perspective that if fatherlessness were classified as a disease, it would be an epidemic worthy of attention as a national emergency. The following research statistics reveal the dramatic increased risk to children when the father is absent:
- 71% of high school dropouts
- 71% of teen pregnancies
- 85% of children with behavioral disorders
- 90% of homeless and runaway children
The impact of fatherlessness is evident in many important areas of life, and is noticeable in the home, schools, health and in prisons. The National Center for Fathering literature states, “In short, fatherlessness is associated with almost every societal ill facing our country’s children.”
The U.S. Census Bureau reports that an estimated 24.7 million children (33%) live absent their biological father.And according to the U.S. Dept of Education, National Center of Education Statistics, of students in grades 1 through 12, 39% (17.7 million) live in homes absent their biological fathers.
Many fathers are not playing the family role that God intended, and there’s significant evidence that in one and two-parent homes, a high percentage, approaching 50% in some areas, have dads that are either physically and/or emotionally absent.
Whether you’re a great parent or one that needs to make significant changes in order to repair your family relationships, or maybe somewhere in the middle, Tender Lions has what you need to strengthen the relationship with your son.
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