BOYS REALLY NEED THEIR DADS

 I'm going to be bold enough to say that children, especially boys, need fathers. I believe that this was how families were designed. Now I might have a ton of bricks dropped on my head by people who believe that a family can be any shape or form it wants to take, especially in the 20th century! That's the way it is now in our western societies. Just because it is happening doesn't say it is right or ideal.

Mothers are nurturers by nature and children know that. It is mothers who usually stay with their children throughout their lives through thick and thin and the reason the justice system has traditionally awarded them custody in divorce situations. My observation from working with families for nearly 50 years is that we are heading in the wrong direction. In many of our families a boy may get to high school before he ever has a male teacher. If there is no significant male at home to model on it can affect his development.

Mothers generally do an amazing job of raising their children, so often on their own. I never saw a fight start at school because someone said, "Your Daddy...!"But I intervened in dozens of fights where someone said, "Your Mama...! Why is this? Mamas are precious to their children because they were always there for them.

Where were the Dads? Not just Dads, but Dads active in their children's lives. Some statistics show that over half the families in the USA are single parent ones...usually with a mother leading.

Ideally, what should a father provide?

• A positive leadership model.
• Love and support for his wife.
• Great modeling for their relationship with a woman.
• Affirmation. A major role a Dad plays is to regularly say, "Well done son/girl. I'm proud of you."
• Setting boundaries and consequences.
• Reinforcing discipline.

Come on Dads. Let's step it up and fulfill our role and duties! We don't need 'deadbeat dad' attached to
our name!

Written by Brian Burgess