[ChicagahAl]

"It's been popular in recent years to blame negligent men for abandoning their children, but a recent federally funded report by Child Trends suggests that women may be more of the problem than men."

To the Nth degree.

So let's see if there is a rush to overhaul the domestic relations courts.

Sadly, not in my lifetime. I'm sure.

[GovernmentShrinker]

I think most of the women who are confident they can bring up children on their own, at least as well as with a father, are probably quite correct. In an ideal family the father contributes a great deal, especially to keeping boys on the right track. But drunken, carousing, womanizing, in-and-out-of-jail fathers, are more trouble than they're worth, and set a horrific example for their children.

When I see that 64% of black women think the kids are just as well off with only a mother, I know they're thinking of the men/fathers in their own communities, a huge percentage of whom fit the unflattering description above. Kids who grow up in two parent homes generally do better because the kind of adults who maintain two parent homes are generally more sane and stable. Just tossing in the biological father, when he has no inclination toward helping maintain a stable home, or towards holding down a job, or towards staying off drugs, etc. will not improve the results of children's upbringing. The proof is in the results for children raised by mothers who were widowed early in the children's lives, or even before their births -- they get very nearly the same results as children who grew up with both parents, so the presence of the father isn't really essential.

[Objectivism USA]

From personal experience I know it is true. I made the mistake one time of getting involved with a woman without getting to know her very well first. He goal was to get pregnant so she would be eligible for welfare and the job training benefits. After I got to know her a little better I discovered that she had the timing of her ovulation charted on the calendar and timed events to maximize the chance of pregnancy. Once she was pregnant she had no interest in a relationship. The only saving grace from my perspective was shortly after she told me she was pregnant and what her plans were she had a miscarriage. The momentary pleasure of getting laid twice was not worth the subsequent agony of worrying what kind of a monster such a woman would raise and with the way our legal system is currently structured I would almost assuredly have been limited to occasional visitation and paying child support.

[buccaneer81]

PING>>>

[chasio649]

http://www.fredoneverything.net/Divorce.shtml

[gitmo]

Overall, 42 percent of women, but only 26 percent of men, said that one parent can bring up a child as well as two parents together.

My wife and I have decided it takes at least 3 or 4 parents to do a good job. But, the two of us will have to do the best we can.

[mr 007]

Dear Joe,
I fully agree with you. Women as well as men need to understand that marriage is a life-time commitment and that kids need two parents. Fatherless kids almost always end up screwed up mentally and emotionally. Thank god I had a dad and a stay-at-home mom. Otherwise, I would surely have ended up in prison or a mental hospital.-mr 007

[TheCrusader]

"but a recent federally funded report by Child Trends suggests that women may be more of the problem than men."

THANK YOU! This is something that I've known all along. As a member of a quickly growing Father's Group, I see so many good dads who are desperately trying to get visitation rights or shared custody of their children, and their ex-wives are doing everything possible to prevent this. Children are so often used as tools by manipulative women, and it's disgraceful and disgusting. All accross our nation there are GOOD men, professors, doctors, lawyers, businessmen, blue collar workers; honorable men of all stripes, who are not able to see their children even though they go to great lengths to make this happen. Women, through their family-destroying, greedy lawyers, issue bogus restraining orders against men and no proof of their accusations is needed in Court. These "abuse prevention orders" only serve to ensure that chidren remain fatherless, and that the woman in the divorce/custody situation has her way. The whole picture is disgusting, because while they try to harm their ex husbands and boyfriends, these selfish women are harming their own chidlren the most.

[Centurion2000]

Who's responsible for the burgeoning rate of fatherless families?

Women's liberation and feminism have destroyed more families than ANYTHING ELSE.

[Stand Watch Listen]

Related Articles

First Things First: Promoting Fatherhood And Families
Source: CNSNews.com; Published: June 12, 2003; Author: Paul M. Weyrich

Sharing the Blame for Fatherless Kids
Source: CNSNews.com; Published: June 11, 2003; Author: Linda Chavez

"Fathers Count"
Source: Mens News Daily; Published: June 7, 2003; Author: Isaiah Flair

Let’s Talk About Paternity Fraud: What’s Going On?
Source: Parents Against Paternity Fraud; Author: Dr. Damon Adams

Bills could end child support payments from men who aren't biological dads
Source: MLIVE.com; Author: The Associated Press

Violence prompts closer look at plight of divorced fathers
Source: The Star-Ledger: Published: November 25, 2002; Author:| DAVID CRARY

A ‘Scarlet Letter’ Law Fla. Adoption Statute Pits Fathers’ Rights Against Women’s Privacy
Source: ABC’s 20/20; Published: September 20, 2002; Author: John Stossel

Ca NOW to Sue Fathers Orgs. Under RICO
Source: FOX News; Published:October 29, 2002; Author: Wendy McElroy

California Governor Davis Preserves, Protects Paternity Fraud
Source: CNSNews.com; Published: October 04, 2002; Author: Glenn Sacks and Dianna Thompson

No Restraint On Restraining Orders
Source: CNSNews..com; Published: September 23, 2002; Author: Stephen Baskerville

The Child Support Agenda
Source: Men's News Daily; Published: July 17, 2002; Author: Roger F. Gay

Fathers Bear the Brunt of Gender Bias in Family Courts
Source: INSIGHT magazine; Published: July 29, 2002; Author: Dianna Thompson and Glenn Sacks

'The Children Of Children' A Rockin' Window On Divorce
Source: Toogood Reports; Published: July 29, 2002; Author: Gerald L. Rowles, Ph.D.

Divorced Dads: Shattering the Myths
Source: Men's News Daily; Published: July 22, 2002; Author: Roger F. Gay

Why There Are So Many Women in the Fathers' Movement
Source: CNSNews.com; Published: June 21, 2002; Author: Glenn Sacks and Dianna Thompson

How to end the war against divorced dads
Source: National Post; Published: March 28, 2000; Author: Donna Laframboise

[leadpencil1]

From today's Wall Street Journal

Move Over, Mom. Research Suggests
Dad's Role Sometimes Matters More

For decades, mothers have been the target of reams of guilt-inducing child-development studies dissecting their every move, right down to how their moods will shape their babies as adults.

Now, researchers are training their microscopes on fathers at last, with some compelling results. Not only do dads' interactions with their infants and toddlers influence the way kids relate later to other people and the world at large, but fathers' influence in some realms is even more powerful than moms'.

The research is fueled by mounting world-wide interest in the contribution fathers make when they are present in the home, says James Levine, director of the Fatherhood Project at the Families & Work Institute, New York. It's also aided by $6.1 million in Bush administration funding for studies on promoting healthy marriages and responsible fatherhood; another $200 million is proposed for research and pilot projects in pending welfare-reform legislation.

As Father's Day approaches, here's the latest on what it takes to be a good dad:

Sensitive play: Using a new yardstick they developed to evaluate a parent's play with a child, researchers at the University of Regensburg, Munich, Germany, found that children whose fathers played with them in a sensitive, supportive and challenging way at age two tended to form closer, more trusting relationships with others at ages 10 and 16.

In a 16-year study of 44 families reported at a Society for Research in Child Development meeting in April, the six researchers, including Karin and Klaus Grossmann, assigned high scores to fathers who talk to a child in a way he can understand, stimulate and encourage the toddler, make appealing suggestions for play and refrain from criticism.

The quality of dads' play, the researchers found, ranks right up there with the strength of the mother-infant bond in predicting children's ability later in life to form enduring relationships with others. When the children reached age 16, fathers' play proved even more powerfully predictive than the mother-child bond. Indeed, dads' play makes "a pivotal and unique contribution" to kids' growth, the study says.

"It's pretty remarkable" that researchers are nailing down such data, says Isaac Farbowitz, 26, a Teaneck, N.J., father of a two-year-old boy, when told of the research. Many of his habits as a dad already hew to the findings. He encourages his son Eric to experiment within safe limits. He allows him to choose what color swing he uses and which dinner he has from a range of choices. "I love getting on the floor and playing with him," he says. "I try to strike a balance between teaching and having fun."

A warm, loving bond: Researchers have long known that attachment -- the warmth, closeness and trustworthiness of a baby's bonds with primary adults -- is crucial to the ability to form healthy relationships. But only recently have studies begun to tease apart how the impact of fathers' attachment to their babies and toddlers differs from mothers.'

In a study of 68 children at ages five and nine, Karine Verschueren and Alfons Marcoen at Catholic University, Leuven, Belgium, found that the quality of a child's bond with his or her father at age five has an even bigger effect in some realms of development than the mother bond. Children who were less attached to their fathers at age five were more anxious and withdrawn and less self-confident at age nine. They were less likely to be warmly accepted by their peer group and well-adjusted at school, based on teacher and peer reports. An insecure attachment to the mother, on the other hand, predicted a lower sense of self-worth and less ability to form close, one-on-one relationships.


Researchers also are pinpointing some risk factors for fathers:

Working long hours: Dads who work long hours tend to spend less time with their kids. This may seem obvious, but the same effect doesn't show up for mothers, says the University of Maryland's Sandra Hofferth, co-author of a broad study of fathers in various family types. Long-hours moms still manage to spend the same amount of time with their children as those who work less hours, perhaps because moms who work part time are so distracted by housework and other duties.

How many hours are too many for dads to work? There's no cutoff; rather, the effects grow steadily as hours at work grow, says the study of 2,531 children, published in February in the Journal of Marriage and Family.

The long-hours issue is an uphill struggle for young dads in today's tough economy. Among the fathers Scott White works with, the most common concern is, "am I spending the appropriate amount of time" to be a good dad? he says. A New York investment banker, Mr. White, 29, read Dr. Seuss books aloud to his daughter when she was still in the womb. Now that she's six months old, Mr. White races home by 9 p.m. so he can read to her before she goes to sleep, then goes back to work at home again for a couple of hours.

Making a lot of money: No, you didn't read this wrong; Dads who have higher incomes spend less time engaged in activities with their children, Dr. Hofferth's study found -- even when the results are adjusted to eliminate the effects of long hours. Of course, the money comes in handy for providing education and other benefits. Also, these big-bucks dads do tend to be warmer and more affectionate with their kids when they are around.

[RadioFR]

Unspun with AnnaZ
June 12th, 2003 -- 7pmP/10pmE

with Special Guest Hostess
Diotima

Hilliaryious!
(and continued Schadenfest*)

We'll be catching up with the DC Chapter of Free Republic and Hilliary!'s "book" tour.

* The Unspun Schadenfest continues due to this!

Plus as always

Boneheaded Lie-beral Quotes and this week's CRB

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