In society today, Absentee fathers may well be the most critical social issue of our time. Father absence, paternal non-presence, father deficit, fatherlessness – the hunger for father. Our children in America are socially and emotionally dying without a father in the home and many are physically sick because of it. This epic crisis of abandonment of the male figure in marriage or the family unit in America has prompted experts to raise alarming red flags. We can no longer just talk about this subject, but we must drastically do something to change the evolving tides of the broken family, broken community and broken relationships. The overwhelming response to our most recent video called, The Importance of a Father,” (https://youtu.be/Cn-P5T1kj6c) has prompted me, as the Founder of Hidden Choices, to speak about Fatherless America.
The list is sadly enormous but here are three staggering statistics:
- 90% of runaways and homeless children have an absentee father
- 95% (and could be higher) of our prisoners both male and female are from the Foster Care System (a dysfunctional social service government program started in 1945 that is as broken as families are)
- 1 out of 3 children in America live in fatherless parenting units
According to The Fatherhood Initiative Program, “father” involvement or lack thereof, effects:
- Poverty levels
- Maternal and child health
- Incarceration
- Crime
- Teen Pregnancy
- Child Abuse
- Drug and Alcohol Abuse
- Education
- Childhood Obesity
As I look at the list above we are clearly at a critical crossroad in today’s society to fight for the institution of marriage and the preservation of the family for the common good of all. The importance of a father, father figure, adoptive father, step father, grandparent, coach and/or pastoral role cannot be overstated in the strategic relationship to measure the success or failure of a child’s life. I often wonder as I study more of the severe consequences and witness firsthand the ramifications of fatherless homes being played out through violence on city streets, overcrowded jails, poor self –concept, deep emotional scars and the list goes on – do we, as a nation care to fight to win for these children or do we leave them to fend for self in a crippled state? If good people won’t, who will?
–Rivers Teske, Hidden Choices Founder
Watch the Video Here: