Single Great Fathers do Exist By Mel

The role of a residential single Father and non-residential Father rarely gains any positive exposure in the media.  A single Father usually refers to a parent who has most of the day to day responsibilities in the raising of the child or children, which would categorize him as the dominant caregiver.  A non-residential Father is a parent who does not live in the same household as his child.  A non-resident Father may be divorced, separated or never married to the child’s mother. Primarily, single Fathers have a hard time receiving assistance from the government when compare to their counterpart single Mothers even though we play a significant role in our child lives.  Sadly what is often display from the media portrays the majority of single Fathers as irresponsible and non-supportive to our children.  I am here to share with you through my experiences along with factual evidence to ignore the propaganda you see and hear every day pertaining to this issue.  I will explore the dynamic role of an active single Father, the economic factors and what external forces he is facing, and finally the psychological effects he has on his child.

            Even though single and non-residential Fathers as a whole are understudied and at times falsely categorize I along with many others have a positive relationship with my child.  Paternalistic protection, education along with strong family values provides a healthy mindset for a child.  An article related to this topic which was reported from Tina Santiago-Rodriguez reveal, “A study done by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore found that children who have fathers in their lives learn better, have higher self-esteem and show fewer signs of depression than children without fathers.  It was also seen that children who perceive their fathers as supportive feel a greater sense of social acceptance and show fewer signs of depression.”  Basic requirements an active single Father has consist of assisting their child with their homework, showing love and affection as well as open communication which is extremely important because misconstrued information is overexpose from the media.  Children now have access to smart phones, tablets, and laptops along with a variety of electronic devices which expose them to more adult themes.  Today with advance technology combined with high cost programs forces a child to mature faster and an active single Father understands his role as a teacher; can deflect negative content which can be harmful to his child. According to Sandra Y. Lee’s article, “Researchers found that, overall; the love or rejection of both parents affects kid’s behavior, self-esteem, emotional stability, and mental health.  But in some cases, the withdrawal of a father’s love seems to play a bigger role in kids’ problems with personality and psychological adjustment, delinquency, and substance abuse says Ronald P. Rohner, Ph.D., director of the Center for the Study of Parental Acceptance and Rejection at the University of Connecticut in Storrs.”  In these circumstances where the mother is incapable of applying these basic functions to raise her child then the single Father must inherit both roles to lead his child in the right direction.