Too many boys nowadays do not know what it means to be a man, how can they -they don’t have a man in their lives.Kids on your street will go to bed tonight without saying goodnight to their Dad because he simply isn’t there.
Maybe even your kid?
There are now over two million single parent families in Britain. The vast majority are headed by a mother, meaning that millions of kids are being raised in households where there is no father. (The figures, from the Office for National Statistics, showed that more than one in four families – 26% – are now led by a single parent.)
Nearly one-fourth of America’s children live in mother-only families. Out of the families living in Hamilton county, 39% of them are headed by a single mother. Of the children living with their mothers, 35% never see their father and 24% see their fathers less than once a month. These kids no doubt live with a woman, and they are taught by a woman at school. Where do they see and interact with positive male role models? If kids is a boy how do they learn what it means to be a man? ...TV? ...Movies? ...On the street?
Even in homes where the father are there research shows that the average father spends less than 10 minutes a day one-on-one with his child. We are living in a society where emotional and spiritual fatherlessness is becoming the norm. Many of today’s fathers did not have positive role models to show them what it means to be a father to a child, so they are not there to show their children what it means to be a father.
No matter how good a mother is, she can't replace what you as a father provides to a child. Irrefutable research shows that mothers typically are nurturing, soft, gentle, comforting, protective and emotional. Dads (myself included) tend to be challenging, prodding, loud, playful, encourage risk taking, and physical. Children need a balance of protection and reasonable risk taking.
Studies have shown that involvement of a father or a positive male role model in the lives of children has profound effects on them. Father-child interaction promotes a child’s physical well being, perceptual ability and competency for relating with others.
These children also demonstrate greater ability to take initiative and show self-control.
How can you make a positive difference for these children?
• If you are a dad who doesn’t live with your yout then you can make the effort to visit with your child more often and be intentional about teaching them important life lessons.
• If you are an teacher you can encourage dads to take on a more active role in the classroom.
• If you are a positive male role model you can involve yourself in the lives of children in your community who can benefit from your influence.
• If you are a leader in your business encourage your employees to be involved in community efforts such as mentoring, sports or activity coaches, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, youth groups, Boys Club or Girl’s Inc.
Too many of us could have wrote this post from our own experience but it doesn’t have to be like that for the kids of today.
Man Dem are you doing your bit?
