Position Essay: Are fathers necessary

Are fathers necessary for children’s well-being? It is long debatable on the involvement on a parent’s role in a child’s life. As many women choose to have children without a man, one question remains; does a child need to involvement of a man in their life? Parenting should be an equal responsibility with the involvement of both a man and a woman.
It has been shown that fathers that engage in their children’s lives though accessibility, responsibility and engagement improves, and supports father-child interactions and is a positive measure in the development (White, 2011). A fathers’ engagement positively influences a young child’s cognitive, language, and social and emotional outcomes (White, 2011). These interactions between father and child are significant, especially during the developing years (2-3 years) as their interaction has massive, positive effects on cognition and language, these contribute even more than the mother’s engagement with the child (White, 2011). A fathers’ education level can be a direct and consistent predictor of a child’s emotional regulation at age 2-3 years. Babies need predictability and security, which they get when their mother and father respond consistently, promptly, and appropriately to their cries, smiles and other signals. As a baby develops a relationship with his or her mother and father, he comes to prefer them to other adults, in a process known as attachment. Psychologists agree that babies with secure attachments to their parents have better chances to develop into happy, successful, and well-adjusted children and adults. Based on theories of socialization and social learning, an individual 's attitudes and behaviors are learned from and modeled upon the behaviors of people who were important and influential to them, making fathers a key influence (Thom & Gilbert, 1998). Children learn patterns of behavior by observing the adults around them. When adult children become parents themselves, they often model their perception of their parents ' attitudes and behaviors consciously and subconsciously (Daly, 1993). Men essentially use their own experiences with their fathers as a "mental model" for their own approach to parenting (Nicholson, Howard, & Borkowski, 2008). This would suggest that men that experienced positive and influential relationships with their fathers would in turn have a positive and influential relationship with their own child (Guzzo, 2011). Researchers found that, overall; the love or rejection of mothers and fathers equally affects kids ' behavior, self-esteem, emotional stability, and mental health (McLanahan, 2011). "But in some cases, the withdrawal of a father 's love seems to play a bigger role in kids ' problems with personality and psychological adjustment, delinquency, and substance abuse," says study coauthor Ronald P. Rohner, Ph.D., director of the Center for the Study of Parental Acceptance and Rejection at the University of Connecticut in Storrs (McLanahan, 2011). In some cases the absence of a father figure can cause significant psychological issues which can lead to things such as substance abuse later in life. Children are born daily without a father, some due to circumstance and others by choice. Women and men alike will argue the fact that a child born without a father will be “just fine”. The number of children living in single parent homes is now at an all time high and single parenting presents you with some unique challenges. Increases in divorce and out-of-wedlock childbearing have dramatically altered the family life of American children. Whereas in the early 1960s, nearly 90 percent of all children lived with both of their biological parents until they reached adulthood, today less than half of children grow up with both natural parents (McLanahan, 2011). Nearly a third are born to unmarried parents, the majority of whom never live together, and another third are born to married parents who divorce before their child reaches adulthood (McLanahan, 2011). To further complicate matters, a substantial number of children are exposed to multiple marital disruptions and multiple father figures. Studies show children in single parent households often mature at a younger age and develop a greater sense of responsibility (Pleck, 1984). Studies also show that children of single parents suffer no detrimental effects from the experience in terms of either their educational or personal development (Pleck, 1984). Fathers usually have a positive influence on their children 's sense of industry, competence, and responsibility. However, if a father discourages his children and intrudes on potential learning situations by being too restrictive or imposing his own solutions, he will have a bad influence on his children. Whether this type of paternal behavior is motivated by a desire to protect his child, by feelings of impatience or frustration, or by his lack of trust in the child, it can hamper children 's development of creativity, motivation, and problem-solving skills, making them less responsible and more dependent. It may appear that the loss of a partner to share in the care of the children should be detrimental, but single parenting provides a unique opportunity to influence the development of the children without suffering the hindrance that the presence of a partner can sometimes bring (Pleck, 1984). The lack of fatherly involvement can also be very upsetting by a young child socially, especially at school functions when there are other children with their fathers. Special days such Father’s Day where kids are making cards and gifts can leave a child feeling alone, isolated and sad. Caring, involved fathers exist outside of marriage. They are more likely, however, to be found in the context of marriage. There are numerous reasons for this, not the least of which being the legal and social norms associated with marriage that connect a father to the family unit. That may also explain, in part, why research consistently shows that the married mother-and-father family is a better environment for raising children than the cohabitating (living together) mother-and-father family. On average, children raised without fathers are more likely to show signs of psychological maladjustment; they are more likely to have difficulties at school, difficulty in getting even to underperform, or to drop out of school early, to have less school completed. They are more likely to be represented in the statistics on delinquency and unconventional social behavior, and they seem to have difficulty establishing and maintaining intimate relationships, particularly heterosexual relationships once they move into adulthood.

References
Daly, K.J. (1993). Reshaping fatherhood: Finding the models. Journal of Family Issues, 14, 510-530.
Guzzo, K. B. (2011). New fathers ' experiences, with their own fathers and attitudes toward fathering. Fathering, 9(3), 268+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.bakerezproxy.palnet.info/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA275636863&v=2.1&u=lom_accessmich&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w
McLanahan, S. (2011). Father absence and the welfare of children. Network on the Family and the Economy. Retrieved from http://apps.olin.wustl.edu/macarthur/working papers/wp-mclanahan2.htm
Nicholson, J.S., Howard, K.S., & Borkowski, J.G. (2008). Mental models for parenting: Correlates of metaparenting among fathers of young children. Fathering, 6, 39-61.
Pleck, J. H. (1984, 03). How do Fathers Fit in?. Civitas. Retrieved from http://www.civitas.org.uk/hwu/fathers.php
Thom, B.L., & Gilbert, L.A. (1998). Antecedents of work and family role expectations of college men. Journal of Family Psychology, 12,259-287.
White, J. (2011). Taking sides. New York: Mcgraw Hill.

References: Daly, K.J. (1993). Reshaping fatherhood: Finding the models. Journal of Family Issues, 14, 510-530. Guzzo, K. B. (2011). New fathers ' experiences, with their own fathers and attitudes toward fathering. Fathering, 9(3), 268+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.bakerezproxy.palnet.info/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA275636863&v=2.1&u=lom_accessmich&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w McLanahan, S. (2011). Father absence and the welfare of children. Network on the Family and the Economy. Retrieved from http://apps.olin.wustl.edu/macarthur/working papers/wp-mclanahan2.htm Nicholson, J.S., Howard, K.S., & Borkowski, J.G. (2008). Mental models for parenting: Correlates of metaparenting among fathers of young children. Fathering, 6, 39-61. Pleck, J. H. (1984, 03). How do Fathers Fit in?. Civitas. Retrieved from http://www.civitas.org.uk/hwu/fathers.php Thom, B.L., & Gilbert, L.A. (1998). Antecedents of work and family role expectations of college men. Journal of Family Psychology, 12,259-287. White, J. (2011). Taking sides. New York: Mcgraw Hill.