Why Fatherhood Matters By Stephen Marche Summary

Why Does Fatherhood Matter?
In “Why Fatherhood Matters,” author Stephen Marche inscribes about how important it is to have a father around during the developmental stages of a child, but it can influence the child’s life in a negative manor while growing up without a dad.
A man’s role in a family is constantly changing. Now more than ever it is important for a child to have a father as well as a mother equally contribute to develop a child. Author Stephen Marche also supports this claim by states in the third paragraph “As the patriarchy is slowly dying, as masculinity continues to undergo a constant process of redefinition, fatherhood has never mattered more”. I believe that Marche was stating that the roles’ of men are constantly changing,

and it is now crucial for men to play important roles in their children’s lives. Nowadays, men are spending twice as much time with their children as they were 50 years ago. Back then, it was not the man’s responsibility to care for the children. The husband went to work and provided for the family, while the wives were responsible for schooling and looking after the children. Despite this, men want children now more than ever before. Studies have shown that unmarried young men want children slightly more than unmarried, young, women. However, with children playing a bigger role than ever before on men in recent years, the media enjoys to make fun of fatherhood.
In popular mainstream television shows, fathers are being mocked as being unintelligent and incapable of raising a family.

In Seth MacFarland’s popular animated comedy Family Guy, the main character Peter Griffin is a father of three, who is viewed as a lackluster father with a short attention span, and a tendency to drink too much beer. In addition, in FOX’s highly acclaimed comedy series The Simpsons, the main protagonist Homer Simpson plays a foolish dad character that we have all come to know and love. This isn’t an original concept either. Ever since the beginning of animated films, there have been dull fathers. Goofy, the tall man-like dog created by Walt Disney played an appropriately named goofy father who debuted in Disney’s “Mickey Revue” in 1932. This dunce of a father character isn’t anything new, but it certainly is not giving fathers the credit they

deserve.
Growing up without a father is shown to have consequences as well.

Marche goes on to write that “Young men who grow up without fathers are twice as likely to end up in jail, 63 percent of youths who commit suicide are from fatherless homes, and 71 percent of high school dropouts come from fatherless homes”. Without a father in their lives, these young men do not have the guidance and leadership boys growing up with dads have. Adolescent males who grow up without men in their lives lack the proper discipline and do not have that that ever so important role model in their lives that they can strive to become one day.
A century ago, it was not the man’s job to play a huge role in the children’s lives, they were just there to provide and occasionally take care of the children. However, most parents now believe that it is just as important to have a father around, as it is to have a mother. Men can offer a different way to parenting than women can, and vise versa. Fathers are excepted to have a very important leadership role that more often than not only fathers can provide. When a father is affectionate, helpful, and drawn in with his children, it is proven to help the child’s self-esteem as long as further develop the

youngster.
Fatherhood is more important now than ever before when it comes to developing a child. In “Why Fatherhood Matters,” author Stephen Marche goes on to compose a great piece of literature that gives an insightful look on how fatherhood is constantly shaping and how having or not having a father in a developing child’s life can impact the young male adolescent’s life significantly.