Without sounding like I am defending myself…considering I am a father living outside the home: Is it a guarantee that children will fall victim by the stats below if Daddy is not in the home? I must say, as I think about the countless men and women I know whose daddy was in the home, that an in home daddy or not children are susceptible to all of the below. Actually, when I think about it. The countless men and women I know who had the “traditional” upbringing have just as many problems as I do/did while growing up. Does this mean I should discount the traditionalism of Mommy and Daddy as a parenting unit? No. I will not discount it – but I do know for a fact men/women with daddy in the home are much like children of preachers: Many of them are completely jacked-up. That’s the word…Not mine!
Also, we must be vigilant in eradicating the misconception of Daddy Gone as an exclusive black issue. The numbers don’t lie; white men are MIA too…So thankful when I can strip the pristine-ness from Mr. White Man.
Also, I am convinced a father staying in the home when each day is H*ll is dangerous – and is more likely to create child monsters.
The Facts
43% of US children live without their father [US Department of Census]
90% of homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes [US D.H.H.S., Bureau of the Census]
80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from fatherless homes [Criminal Justice & Behavior, Vol 14, pp. 403-26, 1978]
71% of pregnant teenagers lack a father [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services press release, Friday, March 26, 1999]
63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes [US D.H.H.S., Bureau of the Census]
85% of children who exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes [Center for Disease Control]
90% of adolescent repeat arsonists live with only their mother [Wray Herbert, “Dousing the Kindlers,” Psychology Today, January, 1985, p. 28]
71% of high school dropouts come from fatherless homes [National Principals Association Report on the State of High Schools]
75% of adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers come from fatherless homes [Rainbows f for all God’s Children]
70% of juveniles in state operated institutions have no father [US Department of Justice, Special Report, Sept. 1988]
85% of youths in prisons grew up in a fatherless home [Fulton County Georgia jail populations, Texas Department of Corrections, 1992]
Fatherless boys and girls are twice as likely to drop out of high school; twice as likely to end up in jail; four times more likely to need help for emotional or behavioral problems. [US D.H.H.S. news release, March 26, 1999]
Brian E. Payne sharing.
4 comments:
Interesting view point, but I don't think anyone every thought that black men alone owned this problem of fatherlessness. I believe that when black folks speak of problems, we speak specific to our community only, excluding all other ethnic groups.
In regard to statistics, I generally have issues with statistics because if you really look at statistics, black people are magnets to all things bad and deadly. When I see statistics, I have to admit, I’m a bit leery because I don’t know who the gatekeepers of the numbers are and what their motives are in regard to reporting accurate and truthful information. I think the right approach in regard to this situation is to recognize the stats for what they are don’t be so tunneled in your vision and thinking as to believe that every child that grows up in a fatherless home is doomed to fail, as there are a voluminous number of fatherless children in the world that have risen to the pinnacle of success. Sure, everyone has issues, we live in a society that is dysfunctional so regardless if you grow up absent a father in the home or with the father of the year, you will have issues and display some attributes of dysfunction on some level it’s inevitable.
Jinx-
What is perceived is based on what is presented/pushed. The media in the US has always 'created' the mindset that black men are the only men fleeing by the thousands.
Stats can be fudged. They can be misleading. Stats can also be a gauge to help understand an issue. I actually get somewhat irritated when the focus is on the number, and not on the reason for the study.
When I think. Think hard about the people I associate with and when I think about 'famous' people, MANY of the people who came to mind has revealed that daddy as absent.
-Muata
Reader Response:
I pretty much agree with everything you are saying. There is an old saying, "a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing." I only wish I retained the site that I took this data from some time ago. Perhaps the research sample, methods and details surrounding the generation of this chart would have helped.
In the absence of such identifiers, the only thing I am sure of is that chart did not mention or attempt to link these findings to any particular race. From that, we can infer that it covers the general population. The stats are about men in general. While often percentages tend to be higher in communities of color (Black, Hispanic, etc.), actual number will almost always be higher among whites for obvious reasons.
There are no guarantees or absolutes about any of this. I don't know if its true in this case, but all too often there are so many aspects that are not covered when charts like this are generated. Obviously, most parents don't want their children to become a statistic. However, what is best for the children must always be considered when determining or interpreting information on the configuration of a household.
Again, I don't know if it was on the page but I would have liked to see information on the stability of the household prior to any changes. It is also unclear if researchers considered what would be best for the children. When we factor in such variables, a single parent household is best, in some cases.
It’s true! There are plenty of “traditional” households that are unbalanced and devoid of essential love, where the children reflect that turmoil. On the other hand, there are loads of single parented households, where the children go on to become happy, successful, well-adjusted adults.
-RK
Muata responds to RK:
So true:
"On the other hand, there are loads of single parented households, where the children go on to become happy, successful, well-adjusted adults."
Which goes to prove and support that the 'traditional' is not always the best.
It is all about the 'psychological positioning' of the child, the outside factors, and the 'drive' of the child in question.
Traditionalism in various forms has been good for us. I actually suggest we 'move away' from it in some areas considering the tradition has been polluted with human's defects.
-Muata
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