The Importance of Dad: A Father’s Day Tribute

Posted on June 15, 2014 Updated on June 15, 2014

“It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father.” ~Pope John XXIII

According to a study on the fatherless in America, here are some important facts as to why having a dad around is vital to human development.

---

Fatherless Children:

---

  Greater risk of drug, alcohol, substance abuse, and suicide rate in general.

  63 percent of teen suicides occur when there is no father in the picture. Specifically, there is a higher rate of suicide among white males who live without fathers.

  Higher rate of teen pregnancy, poor performance in school and a lack of commitment to getting a quality education.

  27 percent of reported child abuse incidents are perpetrated by stepfathers or boyfriends as opposed to biological fathers.

  Approximately 49 percent of child abuse cases are committed by single mothers.

  Boys without fathers are reported to have increased gender identity issues.

  Fatherless children are twice as likely to end up in jail.

  Children treated for emotional problems often are parented by a single mother.

  Kids from single parents, primarily those without fathers, scored lower on crucial tests, experienced higher sexual activity at an early age and suffered from various mood disorders.

  Conduct problems and defiant, rebellious behavior are demonstrated more often by boys or girls raised in single-family homes with fathers who are completely absent from their lives.

  Fatherless children experience more sleep disturbances, insomnia and nightmares.

  35 percent of single parented children never see their father and 24 percent see their dad, at most, once a month.

  Another statistic points out that 80 percent of rapists have displaced anger issues due to living without their father as a child.

  75 percent of fatherless adolescents are treated at chemical abuse centers and
are twice as likely to drop out of high school.

  Violent children who acted out at school were 11 times likely to have lived without their father.

  Children from disruptive and dysfunctional homes stand a 20 percent higher chance than children from from two parent homes to not attend college.

  72 percent of adolescent murderers grew up without a father.

  60 percent of adult rapists grew up without their fathers.

  Young boys who grew up without their fathers have a higher probability of getting involved in criminal behavior.

  Over half of the children who grow up without their father don’t even know where they live.

  90 percent of runaway and homeless children come from fatherless homes.

  85 percent of imprisoned youth grew up without their father.

  Children who grow up without their father tend to suffer more from self-esteem issues than children who live with both parents.

---

There are many adults who grew up in a divorced family. If your father is still alive and he did the absolute best he could, then that’s all you can ever ask for. Sadly, there are many individuals who grew up without their fathers or their fathers are no longer alive. Count yourself beyond fortunate if your father is at the very least a decent human being. The importance of a father’s role in a child’s life is huge. Every adolescent, teen and adult needs a father. If you’re blessed to have pops still around, reach out to him and don’t forget to tell him just how much you appreciate him this  Father’s Day.

---

---

 

---

“I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.” ~Sigmund Freud