A recent article by Time Magazine (“Fatherhood 2.0” THURSDAY, OCT. 04, 2007) featured the cover tag line “Stay at Home Dads: Why Real Men Change Diapers”. The article argues that currently there is a new breed of father emerging in our society. A man that spends more time with his kids and devotes more time to domesticity, but at the same time seems confused by his new role and left questioning his masculinity. After reading this article I couldn’t help but ponder not only the claim that fathers today are doing it better but also whether or not a man had to sacrifice his masculinity to do so.

[More]

Fatherhood is the hardest and most rewarding job a man will perform during his lifetime.  What makes this endeavor so challenging is that there is no training provided and no instruction manuals to seek much needed answers. In other words, a man will have to acquire experience through trial and error in order to succeed at this job. Fatherhood, as defined by  Webster’s II New Riverside Dictionary, is a child’s male ancestor, namely, the male that helped in the creation of the new life.

[More]

The U.S. government has, in the recent past, made commitments to reconnect fathers with their children through funding for programs and federal initiatives. After seeing an increase in issues regarding child support enforcement, crime prevention, high adolescent drop-out rate and studies that show a direct link between nonproductive behaviors in youth to a missing father in the home -— the tipping point was reached.

[More]

Fathers matter, we are aware of that, but we may not know exactly what a male presence brings to children and families.  Stop for just a moment and ask yourself “what’s most important about being (or having) an active dad in the picture?”  You can probably come up with several good reasons why fathers should be integrally involved with their kids and partners. 

[More]