Males: The Absence of a Father

            I think we would all agree that growing up without a father can have long term effects on a child. A growing trend across the globe, particularly in the US, Is the acceptance of the single parent household. More times than not, this would be with the absence of the father in the home.  Between the years of 1960 and 2006 “The number of children living without fathers in single mother homes grew from 8 percent to 23.3 percent, while 34 percent of children currently do not live with their biological fathers” (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2007). This rising number comes with a price. Fatherless aggression, psychiatric disorders, drug and alcohol abuse and emotional distress just name a few problems that are directly related to the fater not being present in the home.

            In my opinion the father plays a huge role in young male’s lives. From sports to emotional support it is important for a dad to show his young boy how to grow into a man. Every boy latches on to his father and idolizes him. Of course there are circumstances where we just cannot reconcile with our spouses, maybe better planning and responsibility is the first step to slowing down this trend.