In this week’s reading of “Good dad’s-bad dads” (Furstenburg 1988) and Diverging Destinies (McLanahan 2004) the authors covered the different roles that being a father may entail and their effect on the post-modern American family. Both a so-called good father and a so-called bad father were demonstrated. The “bad” father practiced more detachment and less involvement in their children’s lives, resulting in them becoming an outside disciplinarian that the mother could only lean on to instruct her children in hard times. The “good” father practiced the opposite by taking on the role of the mother.
One of the main focus’ from “Good dad’s bad dads” was time. If we dated each of the represented fathers it would ultimately frame the 1950’s dad to represent the bad fathers and the post-modern day dad to represent the good. "No longer confined to their traditional task of being the good provider, men have broken the mold. The new father is androgynous; he is a full partner in parenthood.” (Furstenberg 1998:193) Because of changing social norms many fathers are now taking on new roles that were not even imaginable to the previous generation. Some of them being single parenthood, filling the position of a stay at home dad or laying down their professional and financial careers to safe keep their child.
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Overall an in home father is more likely to bond with their child than an out of home
In David Blankenhorn’s book written in 1995, he brings to light what he calls “America’s fundamental problem”: our culture of fatherlessness. Our modern day view of fathers is that they are unnecessary both in society and in the upbringing of a child. Blankenhorn argues the contrary: the only way to solve the multitude of social problems present in America is to address the common denominator, the decline of fathers and the shrinking importance of fatherhood. Blankenhorn’s book is split into three parts: Part I: Fatherlessness, Part II: The Cultural Script and Part III: Fatherhood. In Fatherlessness, he provides the history of fatherhood and includes statistics that help to illustrate the transition of the father from head of the household to being “almost entirely a Sunday institution” (pg. 15).
Although single parenthood is on the rise in homes today, children still often have a father role in their life. It does not matter who the part is filled by: a father, uncle, older brother, grandfather, etc...; in almost all cases, those relationships between the father (figure) and child have lasting impacts on the youth the rest of their lives. In “I Wanted to Share My Father’s World,” Jimmy Carter tells the audience no matter the situation with a father, hold onto every moment.
PROTECTIVE DAD My paper is called “Protective Dad”. I decided to use a Hyundai commercial featuring Kevin Hart as the main character. Kevin Hart is playing the role as the father in the commercial. His daughter’s boyfriend wants to take her on a date so Hart gives permission.
In this article, the editors discussed the social trends and how they can change in nature of father involvement. They tested how children today will make their expectations taking upon a role of mother and father. Increase in father absence is associated with poor school achievement, reduced involvement in labor force, early childbearing, and high risk-taking behaviors. In addition, boys without fathers will experience problems with their sexual orientation and gender identity, school performance, psychosocial adjustment, and self-control. The editors differentiated the girls by how affected they were without fathers.
The focus of my discussion in this paper is the “dumbing-down” of dads in our modern society. In researching this topic, I came across the following comic strip that illustrates quite clearly how dads are often depicted/ portrayed to children, especially in the media. In the image copied below, we can see how the representation of the dad has changed over the years. The children comment that they are watching an old show where the father was actually an intelligible being and there ensues the laughter on the part of the mother and the children. I feel this is a theme that has come about as comic relief, but also as a way of demeaning men as partners and parents. As a mother, I know I am guilty of this, and as a society I think we propagate this concept way too easily.
The overabundance of debauched dad’s on Television undermines a cultural ideal of responsible fatherhood at a time when that ideal is most needed. At a time when the culture around us is morally crumbling for lack of responsible men leading their families. A time when the divorce rate is 20 X higher than it was 50 years ago. We are in a time when fatherhood is under assault and the consequences of dads disappearing from America’s Family landscape is detrimental to the well-being of fatherless children. The contributors to fatherlessness are only growing, as are the consequences but there is still hope for father-fullness in America today.
Glenda Wall and Stephanie Arnold argue that the “new fathers” of today are more involved, nurturing, they develop closer relationships with their children, and they share the caregiving joys with mothers. However, there is still some parental guilt in the parental dynamic due to responsibilities, work-family balance issues, and hegemonic masculinities that continue to cast mothers as the primary caregiver. Wall and Arnold study parenting to determine how media has formed the roles of mom and dad. They both believe that fathers now are far more likely to be a big part of their child's life then they were thirty years ago.
This particular study hypothesized that the amount of time spent with the father there was greater behavior problems with the child, which has never been previously questioned. During the other studies, father’s involvement and care were considered as alternatives. To measure this, r...
Since the time of Adam and Eve, parents have played a major role in upbringing children and reproducing more generations. In most societies, the father is the backbone of the family and plays a major role in providing support and stability to the family. Yet, the role of the father differs from one family to another. While some fathers focus only on feeding and educating their children, others focus on every aspect of their children’s lives. The father’s leadership often drives the children to have a close relationship with the father.
In present time dads share with mothers the same level of emotional response to new-born babies and are just as sensitive and affectionate when looking after their babies (Secunda, 1992). Today more than half of all children are raised by single mothers and twenty eight percent of children are raised in single parent homes. Fathers are now the main care givers for children when mothers are working. In thirty percent of dual earner families, it is now the father more than any other individual, who cares for children when the mother is at work. If it proves true that daughters search for romantic partners like t...
Since the beginning of time, fathers have had a profound effect on their child’s development. Over the years, the norm for traditional family dynamics of having a father figure in the household has changed drastically, and so did the roles of the parents. It is not as common as it used to be to have a father or father figure in the home. In this day and age, women are more likely to raise children on their own and gain independence without the male assistance due to various reasons. The most significant learning experience and development of a person’s life takes place in their earlier years when they were children. There are many advantages when there is a mother and father combined in a
The role of the father, a male figure in a child’s life is a very crucial role that has been diminishing over the years. An absent father can be defined in two ways; the father is physically not present, or the father is physically present, but emotionally present. To an adolescent, a father is an idolized figure, someone they look up to (Feud, 1921), thus when such a figure is an absent one, it can and will negatively affect a child’s development. Many of the problems we face in society today, such as crime and delinquency, poor academic achievement, divorce, drug use, early pregnancy and sexual activity can be attributed to fathers being absent during adolescent development (Popenoe, 1996; Whitehead, 1993). The percentage of adolescents growing up fatherless has risen from 17% to 36% in just three decades between 1960 and 1990 (Popenoe, 1996). Dr. Popenoe estimates this number will increase to approximately 50% by the turn of the century (Popenoe, 1996). The US Census Bureau reported out of population of 24 million children, 1 out 3 live in a home without a father (US Census Bureau, 2009).
A father is someone who protects, loves, supports and raises his children, whether they are biologically related or not. Every single person living on the Earth has a biological father. These biological fathers are supposed to take the responsibility of being a father because they did help bring a child into this world. One of the main responsibilities of a father is providing the child with the necessities of life, which include food, shelter, and clothes. Not only is a father responsible for the physical aspect but the emotional aspect as well. Children need to feel loved, cared for, and emotional support from their parents. A child needs to be reassured, so a father must show his affection, both physically and emotionally. A father needs to be involved in his children’s life. He needs to be a problem solver, playmate, provider, preparer, and he has to have principles. A father has to pr...
The role of a father in his child’s life extends past the knowledge of far too many, and can oftentimes be eclipsed by the role of the mother. Although the mother’s role is essential and greatly valued in a child’s life and development, the father plays a significant role as well. No mother can fill the father’s place in a child’s heart, for fathers nurture and play differently than a mother. Several studies show that an attendant and highly involved father is critical, especially in the early stages of a child’s life. The absence of a father during this stage can lead to “impaired social and behavioral abilities in adults” (Robert, 2013). But what is the role of the father? This paper discusses the role of the expectant father, the birth experience for him, the transition into fatherhood, and the rise of single fathers.
Childers, Lauren B. Parental Bonding in Father-Son Relationships. digitalcommons.liberty.edu. N.p., 2010. Web. 3 Apr. 2014.