Family and Father Figure
Darian Peavy
Professor Meehan
Writing 101
6 April 2013
Fatherless
I remember always thinking to myself as a kid: Was it my fault that my father wasn’t around? Was it my fault my family is struggling? My fault we can’t afford nicer things? While I would see the other kids getting picked up by their parents after school while I’m waiting on the school bus to take me home. At times it hurt, especially when I had to teach myself everything a father figure should have. Life without a father or in a single parent household has a burden on children, but it’s something that many children face in America today. It’s sometimes the reason why kids grow up and stray the wrong direction in life and then they grow up putting their children through the same thing they went through. Being fatherless is actually something that a lot of children suffer with in America, and it’s a vicious cycle that continues to run rampant through communities, both bad and good. “One-third of American children are growing up, without their biological father, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In the past 50 years, the percentage of children who live with two married parents has dropped 22 points. During that same time, the number of babies born to unwed mothers jumped from 5 percent to 40 percent” (Stuart). It happens in many different ways, which include: one night stands, divorce, separation due to imprisonment or death, and etc. One situation that sticks out to me because it actually happened to me is the father walking out on his family, either after the child is born or before. When this happens the father usually has no idea the impact on the decision he has made. Most times its out of fear, he thinks he’s too young to have a child or family. Other cases include the father leaving because doesn’t want anything to do with the child. So he leaves with the thought that the child would be better off without him, when in fact he’s making things worse. When this happens it causes
Professor Meehan
Writing 101
6 April 2013
Fatherless
I remember always thinking to myself as a kid: Was it my fault that my father wasn’t around? Was it my fault my family is struggling? My fault we can’t afford nicer things? While I would see the other kids getting picked up by their parents after school while I’m waiting on the school bus to take me home. At times it hurt, especially when I had to teach myself everything a father figure should have. Life without a father or in a single parent household has a burden on children, but it’s something that many children face in America today. It’s sometimes the reason why kids grow up and stray the wrong direction in life and then they grow up putting their children through the same thing they went through. Being fatherless is actually something that a lot of children suffer with in America, and it’s a vicious cycle that continues to run rampant through communities, both bad and good. “One-third of American children are growing up, without their biological father, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In the past 50 years, the percentage of children who live with two married parents has dropped 22 points. During that same time, the number of babies born to unwed mothers jumped from 5 percent to 40 percent” (Stuart). It happens in many different ways, which include: one night stands, divorce, separation due to imprisonment or death, and etc. One situation that sticks out to me because it actually happened to me is the father walking out on his family, either after the child is born or before. When this happens the father usually has no idea the impact on the decision he has made. Most times its out of fear, he thinks he’s too young to have a child or family. Other cases include the father leaving because doesn’t want anything to do with the child. So he leaves with the thought that the child would be better off without him, when in fact he’s making things worse. When this happens it causes
Cited: Stuart, Elizabeth. "Fatherless America? A third of children now live without their dad." Deseret News., 22 May 2011. Web. 4 May 2009. Parker, Wayne. “Statistics on Fatherless Children in America.” About.com Guide. Web.