Does a dad matter?

Sunday is Father's Day and, with the growing number of women who opt for a family without a father, the question is asked, "Does a dad matter?" The role of father has certainly been downplayed but fathers have a unique and irreplaceable part to play in the lives of our children. A father needs to be physically, spiritually and emotionally involved in their children's lives. In practical terms, he provides, nurtures and guides. The wealth of social-science data of teen pregnancies, poor school grades, depression, drug and alcohol abuse in fatherless kids supports these claims that fathers bring a vital dose of love, security and stability to their wives and children. They make a very positive difference indeed (familyfacts.org). Would you be surprised to learn that these finding also report that frequency of church attendance is a stronger predictor of paternal involvement in on-on-one activities with children than employment and income? As Rebecca Hagelin (The Heritage Foundation) states, "Maybe the folks in the make-believe world of television and the movies can get by without 'functional marrieds' and the dads who make up one half of the vital equation. But for those of us in the real world, fathers play an irreplaceable role. So to all the fathers out there: Don't let the pop culture relegate you to oblivion. We need your leadership and your love- we need you. You are vital to your families, to our society and to nation's future. Please, make every day a day of fathering."  

Jeremy Reynalds (crosswalk.com) writes further on the importance of dads for today's family despite society's attempts to trivialise their importance. Please read his article:

Unjustly or not, I think that sometimes dads feel cheated when it comes to Father's Day. It seems to play second fiddle to Mother's Day. Here is some interesting information I found (www.menstuff.org) comparing the two days:

"Mother's Day is about heartstrings. Father's Day is about hardware and last-minute shopping. Father's Day is less revered: not planned as far ahead, less time is spent together as a family and gifts are chintzier. Mother's Day - 150 million cards sold. Father's Day, a Hallmark afterthought, sees less than 95 million. While Mother's Day racks 150 million phone calls, Father's Day has 140 million but holds the title for most calls placed collect. Mother's Day ranks as the number one holiday for wired flowers with 23 percent of all holiday floral sales. Father's Day gets beat out by such bloom-crazy events as Thanksgiving. Statistically, men are more likely to get flowers at their funeral than for Father's Day.

Mother's Day is the biggest brunch day of the year and a bigger dining out day than Valentine's Day with 38 percent of adults eating out. Father's Day sees 23 percent of adults eating out. It is a bigger day on the golf links, which tend to attract a mix of all-male foursomes, couples and dads with kids. Top gift for mom - clothing. Top gift for dad - one of 8 million neckties sold for the occasion. Happy Father's Dad, anyway, dad!

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