Fatherless homes are a crisis that plagues our country. The statistics surrounding fatherless homes are not the greatest. Below you will find some statistics about fatherless homes taken from The Fatherless Generation:

• 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes (US Dept. Of Health/Census) — 5 times the average.
• 85% of all youths in prison come from fatherless homes — 20 times the average. (Fulton Co. Georgia, Texas Dept. of Correction)
• 71% of pregnant teenagers lack a father. [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services press release, Friday, March 26, 1999]
• Daughters of single parents without a Father involved are 53% more likely to marry as teenagers … and 92% more likely to get divorced themselves.

Now let us compare the statistics from homes that include an involved father:

• Children with Fathers who are involved are 70% less likely to drop out of school.
• Children with Fathers who are involved are 40% less likely to repeat a grade in school.
• Adolescent girls raised in a 2 parent home with involved Fathers are significantly less likely to be sexually active than girls raised without involved Fathers.

The science tells us that the destruction of fatherhood does not produce great results, so why is the restoration of fatherhood not a priority for our country? The answer is control. It is far easier to control a population that is confused and emotionally broken. Children raised in instability will search for stability outside of the home. This is where the state comes in and becomes the parent.

Many public schools across the country have taken the approach of caring for the whole child. This means that the school provides wraparound services such as education, healthcare, mental care, and food for those children living among food deserts. This approach sounds convenient and even loving, but what this approach does is release a child’s parent from responsibility. Whether the intentions are pure or not, the approach should not be to take over parental responsibility.

Fathers are essential to a child’s upbringing. Of course, the father must be present, loving, and productive to yield fruitful results. And when a father is not present, elders, fathers, and the community must step up to become a positive figure in the child’s life. Contrary to popular feminist belief, women cannot do it all, especially when it comes to raising children. Many single mothers work multiple jobs to ensure their children are taken care of. This leaves daycares and schools to fill in as a parent for that child.

Our country must begin to have a serious conversation around fatherlessness and fatherhood. A change in culture must happen, and we must expect more from young men as a society. We cannot continue to hold men to lower standards, and coming from a fatherless home must not be the reason we hold anyone to lower standards. The restoration of our country begins with our family values and the tradition that made this country great. It is time to make fathers great again.