The Power of Impact - Day 19 - The cost of father absence

"There is a significant financial impact when fathers are not connected with their families."- Roland Warren, NFI President, on C-SPAN

One Hundred Billion Dollars.That's the amount of federal taxpayer money used to support father-absent homes each year. Your donation of $25, $50, or $100 will help us prevent father absence, providing a brighter future for our kids and a lower taxpayer burden for our families. Learn More / See what U.S. Senators are saying about this study.

Today, pray that our country and fathers will recognize how much it costs us when fathers are not involved in the lives of their children.

The Power of Impact - Day 18 - Reaching Military Dads

"Hi Daddy!!!!!! We miss you so much daddy…we wanted to let the whole world know you are our super dad, you're the best, always there for me…we are all counting down the days til you come home safe. We miss you and love you."

Through Drop Dad A Line, military families can leave their deployed dad an encouraging message. NFI has distributed helpful resources to over 70,000 military families to help them stay connected during deployment and survive the difficulties of military life.For $25, you can support five military families who are sacrificing to serve our country. For a larger gift, you can help reach many more military families. More about Military Programming

Today, pray for all the military dads and their families. Ask God to fill the void for these children while their dad is away serving their county.

The Power of Impact - Day 17 - The 24/7 Dad Program

"Once I got into the [24/7 Dad™] class…it really blessed my heart. One thing that stood out to me is a part where it says "put your child in a chair, and get down on your knees, and look up at your child…" It made me re-think just exactly what I was doing. Now today I promise you that I implement a lot of things that were taught in [24/7 Dad™] to better myself as a man, as a husband, and as an all-around individual."

NFI's 24/7 Dad™ program gives men the tools they need to be the best fathers they can be.For $40, you can provide this program for five fathers, and help us build stronger families and better communities for our nation. For a larger gift, you can help NFI establish a new 24/7 Dad™ program at a local organization. More about 24/7 Dad™ and Community-Based Programming

Today, pray that dads will learn the skills to be more involved, responsible, and committed. Ask that God give a heart to fathers that makes them want to grow and be the best dad that they can be to their children.

Day 16 - A Day of Thanksgiving

Today on Thanksgiving I wanted to share with each of you why I am thankful to be a dad...

• I am thankful because my children teach me about unconditional love.
• I am thankful because my children teach me about how important my father was to me.
• I am thankful because of the laughter that my children bring to my life.
• I am thankful because my children reveal things about myself in their behavior and actions - lessons that I need to learn in life.
• I am thankful because of special memories that I have with my children and family.
• I am thankful because my children help me to love my wife better.
• I am thankful because my children teach me spiritual lessons.
• I am thankful because of the purity and innocence that I see in my children
• I am thankful because of the legacy that I will leave because of my children.
• I am thankful that my children are wise beyond their years and how many things they help me to know.
• I am thankful for the friendship of my children.

These are just some of the reasons that I am thankful this thanksgiving. Take a few moments to be thankful for your families and count the reasons that you can thankful for your children.

The Power of Impact - Doctor Dad - Day 15!

"My husband (after being home alone with a vomiting infant and needing some practical help in being a dad)…said it best when he said, 'I thought common sense would be enough.' Thank you, NFI, for offering the tools to help this new father add the most important letters to his…titles, DAD!!!"

When dad isn't involved, babies are more likely to have a low birth weight and mothers are more likely to miscarry and to develop post-partum depression. Our Healthcare programming has delivered over 200,000 Daddy Packs to new fathers. A donation of only $10 can provide a father with the important information he needs to keep his newborn safe and healthy. For a larger gift, you can help start a program reaching many new dads. More about Daddy Pack™ and Healthcare Programming

Pray today that new dads learn to be involved from the start. Ask God to give fathers a heart to take care of all aspects of their children.

The Power of Impact! - InsideOut Dads - Day 14

"This [InsideOut Dad™] program has helped me to stay out of trouble and to show my son that I made a mistake and I have grown from it. I believe it is important for my child to know that I have changed the direction of my life and I don't know what would have happened to me without this program."

National Fatherhood Inititive's InsideOut Dad™ curriculum is changing lives for inmates and their families in 48 states and Washington, D.C. Research has shown that ex-prisoners who are more connected to family are more likely to stay out of prison after release.It only takes $50 to reach five inmates via an existing program. By giving a larger gift, you can help NFI establish an InsideOut Dad™ program at another prison to reach even more dads. You can read more about this program at: More about InsideOut Dad™

Today - pray for the children that have dads in prison. Pray that those dads will know how important it is to reach out to their children even while they are in prison.

Day 13 - Don't Miss Opportunties

All -

I wanted to share this letter that was recently sent out by the President of the National Fatherhood Initiative. I think you will find it very moving...

One of the most rewarding aspects of my role at NFI is the unique opportunity to see and hear firsthand the impact that our work is having on incarcerated fathers. Over about 2 years, we have seen our work in this area expand tremendously, with 48 states now implementing our InsideOut Dad programs in their jails and prisons. (You can learn more about the program at http://www.fatherhood.org/insideoutdad/.) This is especially important since most incarcerated men are fathers and their children are more at risk to be involved in crime and end up incarcerated as well.

That said, I was particularly encouraged when we received a letter from an inmate named Raymond whose cellmate was enrolled in an InsideOut Dad class in Montgomery County, MD. I have shared this letter with others and thought you would appreciate it as well. You can read it at http://www.fatherhood..org/doclibrary/Corrections_Impact_Letter.pdf.

Raymond told the facilitator of the program that he was so blown away by the changes he saw in his cellmate that he wanted to write a letter to give to all program graduates. His words are powerful, hopeful, and yet cautionary, and he graciously has allowed us to share them. I can't help but wonder how different his story would have been if we had been able to reach him as a father before he was incarcerated and how different his son's story would have been if InsideOut Dad had been available when Raymond was first incarcerated. However, I am encouraged because we have an opportunity to change the future for his fellow inmates and their children.

Roland C. Warren
President
National Fatherhood Initiative
Website: http://www.blogger.com/www.fatherhood.org

Sunday Devotional Thought - Day 12

Luke 19:10 (New International Version)


10"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

Earlier this year I read an amazing story about a father who saved his son. The story was about a son - Chris Marino and his father Walter Marino. Chris was swimming in the Ponce de Leon inlet when he was caught in a current. His father saw that he was trouble and jumped into the ocean to try to save his son. But in going to where his son was he to was caught into the same current that trapped his son. They began to drift into some of Central Florida's most shark infested waters. Reports state that "after 15 hours, some of which were in the dark overnight Sunday, the US Coast Gaurd spotted them floating 8 miles off the Ponce de Leon Inlet."

You can read the entire account at: http://www.local6.com/news/17416973/detail.html

You know God saw us as his children in the same situation. He knew that we were lost and needed help. We had waded into the deep, dark waters that had the power to move us away so that we would be lost. But, God being a good father jumped into to save us by sending His Son to earth so that we could be saved and brought back to Him.

Spend time today thanking God for saving you!

Facts on Fatherhood - Day Eleven

Father Factor in Education:

• Fatherless children are twice as likely to drop out of school.Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. National Center for Health Statistics. Survey on Child Health. Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1993.
• Father involvement in schools is associated with the higher likelihood of a student getting mostly A's. This was true for fathers in biological parent families, for stepfathers, and for fathers heading single-parent families.Source: Nord, Christine Winquist, and Jerry West. Fathers’ and Mothers’ Involvement in Their Children’s Schools by Family Type and Resident Status. (NCES 2001-032). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001.
• Students living in father-absent homes are twice as likely to repeat a grade in school; 10 percent of children living with both parents have ever repeated a grade, compared to 20 percent of children in stepfather families and 18 percent in mother-only families.Source: Nord, Christine Winquist, and Jerry West. Fathers’ and Mothers’ Involvement in Their Children’s Schools by Family Type and Resident Status. (NCES 2001-032). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001.
• Students in single-parent families or stepfamilies are significantly less likely than students living in intact families to have parents involved in their schools. About half of students living in single-parent families or stepfamilies have parents who are highly involved, while 62 percent of students living with both their parents have parents who are highly involved in their schools.Source: Nord, Christine Winquist, and Jerry West. Fathers’ and Mothers’ Involvement in Their Children’s Schools by Family Type and Resident Status. (NCES 2001-032). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001.
• In 2001, 61 percent of 3- to 5-year olds living with two parents were read aloud to everyday by a family member, compared to 48% of children living in single- or no-parent families.Source: Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2002. Table ED1. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2003.
• Kindergarteners who live with single-parents are over-represented in those lagging in health, social and emotional, and cognitive outcomes. Thirty-three percent of children who were behind in all three areas were living with single parents while only 22% were not lagging behind.Source: Wertheimer, Richard and Tara Croan, et al. Attending Kindergarten and Already Behind: A Statistical Portrait of Vulnerable Young Children. Child Trends Research Brief. Publication #2003-20. Washington, DC: Child Trends, 2003.
• In two-parent families, children under the age of 13 spend an average of 1.77 hours engaged in activities with their fathers and 2.35 hours doing so with their mothers on a daily basis in 1997. Children in single parent families spent on .42 hours with their fathers and 1.26 hours with their mothers on daily basis.Source: Lippman, Laura, et al. Indicators of Child, Family, and Community Connections. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services, 2004.
• A study of 1330 children from the PSID showed that fathers who are involved on a personal level with their child schooling increases the likelihood of their child's achievement. When fathers assume a positive role in their child's education, students feel a positive impact.Source: McBride, Brent A., Sarah K. Schoppe-Sullivan, and Moon-Ho Ho. "The mediating role of fathers' school involvement on student achievement." Applied Developmental Psychology 26 (2005): 201-216.
• Half of all children with highly involved fathers in two-parent families reported getting mostly A's through 12th grade, compared to 35.2% of children of nonresident father families.Source: National Center for Education Statistics. The Condition of Education. NCES1999022. Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Education, 1999: 76.

Today, pray for the wisdom of your children and that for the wisdom of fathers. Many dads are not bad dads, they just don't know how to be better and how to educate themselves. Pray that God will give them wisdom to know how to teach, care for, and love their children.

Facts on Fatherhood - Day Ten

Father Factor in Childhood Obesity:

• National Longitudinal Survey of Youth found that obese children are more likely to live in father-absent homes than are non-obese children.Source: National Longitudinal Survey of Youth
• Study that looked at family lifestyle and parent’s Body Mass Index (BMI) over a nine year period found:- Father’s Body Mass Index (BMI) predicts son’s and daughter’s BMI independent of offspring’s alcohol intake, smoking, physical fitness, and father’s education- Furthermore, BMI in sons and daughters consistently higher when fathers were overweight or obese- Physical fitness of daughters negatively related to their father’s obesity- Obesity of fathers associated with a four-fold increase in the risk of obesity of sons and daughters at age 18Source: Burke V, Beilin LJ, Dunbar D. “Family lifestyle and parental body mass index as predictors of body mass index in Australian children: a longitudinal study.” Department of Medicine, Royal Perth Hospital, University of Western Australia, and the Western Australian Heart Research Institute; Perth, Australia.
• A fathers’ body mass index (a measurement of the relative composition of fat and muscle mass in the human body) is directly related to a child’s activity level. In a study of 259 toddlers, more active children were more likely to have a father with a lower BMI than less active children.Source: Finn, Kevin, Neil Johannsen, and Bonny Specker. “Factors associated with physical activity in preschool children.” The Journal of Pediatrics 140 (January 2002): 81-85.
• Study that looked at dietary intake and physical activity of parents and their daughters over a two year period found:- Daughter’s BMI predicted by father’s diets and father’s enjoyment of physical activity- As father’s BMI rose, so did their daughter’s BMISource: Davison KK, Birch LL. “Child and parent characteristics as predictors of change in girls' body mass index.” Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.
• Study that looked at the relationship between parent’s total and percentage body fat and daughter’s total body fat over a two and one-half year period found:- Father’s, not mother’s, total and percentage body fat the best predictor of changes in daughter’s total and percentage body fat.Source: Figueroa-Colon R, Arani RB, Goran MI, Weinsier RL. “Paternal body fat is a longitudinal predictor of changes in body fat in premenarcheal girls.” Department of Pediatrics, General Clinical Research Center, Medical Statistics Unit, Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA.
• Two studies that have looked at the determinants of physical activity in obese and non-obese children found:- Obese children less likely to report that their father’s were physically active than were the children of non-obese children. This determinant not found for mothers.- Father’s inactivity strong predictor of children’s inactivity.Source: Trost SG, Kerr LM, Ward DS, Pate RR. “Physical activity and determinants of physical activity in obese and non-obese children. School of Human Movement Studies, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.Source: Fogelholm M, Nuutinen O, Pasanen M, Myohanen E, Saatela T. “Parent-child relationship of physical activity patterns and obesity.” University of Helsinki, Lahti Research and Training Centre, Finland.
• Children who lived with single mothers were significantly more likely to become obese by a 6-year follow-up, as were black children, children with nonworking parents, children with nonprofessional parents, and children whose mothers did not complete high school.Source: Strauss RS, Knight J. “Influence of the home environment on the development of obesity in children.” Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903, USA.

Today pray for the health of the children that you know. Pray for their phyiscal, mental, and spiritual health. If you are a dad pray that you can model a healthy lifestyle to your children.

Facts on Fatherhood - Day Nine

Father Factor in Drug and Alcohol Abuse

• Researchers at Columbia University found that children living in two-parent household with a poor relationship with their father are 68% more likely to smoke, drink, or use drugs compared to all teens in two-parent households. Teens in single mother households are at a 30% higher risk than those in two-parent households.Source: “Survey Links Teen Drug Use, Relationship With Father.” Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly 6 September 1999: 5.


• Even after controlling for community context, there is significantly more drug use among children who do not live with their mother and father.Source: Hoffmann, John P. “The Community Context of Family Structure and Adolescent Drug Use.” Journal of Marriage and Family 64 (May 2002): 314-330.


• In a study of 6,500 children from the ADDHEALTH database, father closeness was negatively correlated with the number of a child’s friends who smoke, drink, and smoke marijuana. Closeness was also correlated with a child’s use of alcohol, cigarettes, and hard drugs and was connected to family structure. Intact families ranked higher on father closeness than single-parent families.Source: National Fatherhood Initiative. “Family Structure, Father Closeness, & Drug Abuse.” Gaithersburg, MD: National Fatherhood Initiative, 2004: 20-22.


• Of the 228 students studied, those from single-parent families reported higher rates of drinking and smoking as well as higher scores on delinquency and aggression tests when compared to boys from two-parent households.Source: Griffin, Kenneth W., Gilbert J. Botvin, Lawrence M. Scheier, Tracy Diaz and Nicole L. Miller. “Parenting Practices as Predictors of Substance Use, Delinquency, and Aggression Among Urban Minority Youth: Moderating Effects of Family Structure and Gender.” Psychology of Addictive Behaviors 14 (June 2000): 174-184.

Today, pray for the chocies that the children of fatherless homes make. Pray that they can overcome the danager of being in a home without a dad. Praise God for being a father who is always there to protect his children from harm and ask that God give us a nation of fathers who are engaged in their children's life.

Facts on Fatherhood - Day Eight

Father Factor in Child Abuse

• Compared to living with both parents, living in a single-parent home doubles the risk that a child will suffer physical, emotional, or educational neglect. Source: America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being. Table SPECIAL1. Washington, D.C.: Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 1997.
• The overall rate of child abuse and neglect in single-parent households is 27.3 children per 1,000, whereas the rate of overall maltreatment in two-parent households is 15.5 per 1,000. Source: America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being. Table SPECIAL1. Washington, D.C.: Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 1997.
• An analysis of child abuse cases in a nationally representative sample of 42 counties found that children from single-parent families are more likely to be victims of physical and sexual abuse than children who live with both biological parents. Compared to their peers living with both parents, children in single parent homes had: - a 77% greater risk of being physically abused- an 87% greater risk of being harmed by physical neglect- a 165% greater risk of experiencing notable physical neglect- a 74% greater risk of suffering from emotional neglect- an 80% greater risk of suffering serious injury as a result of abuse- overall, a 120% greater risk of being endangered by some type of child abuse. Source: Sedlak, Andrea J. and Diane D. Broadhurst. The Third National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect: Final Report. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. Washington, D.C., September 1996.

Today pray for children that have been abused and have a father wound in their life. Ask that God help bring people into your life who you can be a father figure to so that they can see what Godly men look like.

Your Children Need You - Day Seven

Today I just wanted to relate a personal note and story. Last night I experience a moment that many dads experience at various days throughout the year. I went to work and had a productive day at work. That evening I sat down to eat dinner with my wife and kids. At dinner I decided to help our 5 month old baby by trying to get him to eat some food. We have just started the process of feeding him baby food and he has not really enjoyed the beginning of the process. I laughed with him, and talked to him and he ate a whole container of food....

and I thought, the baby really needed me today...

After dinner my 11 year old son brought me his trumphet that had a value that was sticking. The teacher told him that he thought the value was broke and would need to be replaced. I worked on the value for about an hour and got it work smoothly. I gave it back to my son and I could see the relief on his face - something that he thought he had broken had now been fixed.

and I thought, my son really needed me today....

About an hour later my 13 year old daughter was finishing a project for school. She wanted to save it on a zip drive but did not know how. I went in and showed her how to use the zip drive and gave her special paper to print her project on.

and I thought, my daughter really needed me today....

Now these are simple moments in the life of dad and moments that many of us experience in a variety of ways every day. I hope and pray that these moments remind us that our children really need us today!

Ken

Fatherhood Fifty - Day Six

Speaking of dads and their daughters. Watch this powerful video today and then pray for dads to have a warm and loving heart to their children even when they make mistakes.

Facts on Fatherhood - Day 5

Facts on Fatherhood - Day 5!




As the father of a daughter I am always concerned that I am teaching a guiding her correctly as it pertains to her choices. I recently had the honor of presenting a conference and speaking on dads and their daughters. I will post more about that later. But today consider...



Father Factor in Teen Pregnancy

• Being raised by a single mother raises the risk of teen pregnancy, marrying with less than a high school degree, and forming a marriage where both partners have less than a high school degree.Source: Teachman, Jay D. “The Childhood Living Arrangements of Children and the Characteristics of Their Marriages.” Journal of Family Issues 25 (January 2004): 86-111.


• Separation or frequent changes increase a woman’s risk of early menarche, sexual activity and pregnancy. Women whose parents separated between birth and six years old experienced twice the risk of early menstruation, more than four times the risk of early sexual intercourse, and two and a half times higher risk of early pregnancy when compared to women in intact families. The longer a woman lived with both parents, the lower her risk of early reproductive development. Women who experienced three or more changes in her family environment exhibited similar risks but were five times more likely to have an early pregnancy.Source: Quinlan, Robert J. “Father absence, parental care, and female reproductive development.” Evolution and Human Behavior 24 (November 2003): 376-390


• Researchers using a pool from both the U.S. and New Zealand found strong evidence that father absence has an effect on early sexual activity and teenage pregnancy. Teens without fathers were twice as likely to be involved in early sexual activity and seven times more likely to get pregnant as an adolescent.Source: Ellis, Bruce J., John E. Bates, Kenneth A. Dodge, David M. Ferguson, L. John Horwood, Gregory S. Pettit, and Lianne Woodward. “Does Father Absence Place Daughters at Special Risk for Early Sexual Activity and Teenage Pregnancy.” Child Development 74 (May/June 2003): 801-821.

Today - pray for dads and their daughters.

Facts on Fatherhood - Day 4

Facts on Fatherhood - Day 4!

Continuing on what we started talking about yesterday - consider this:

Father Factor in Crime:

• A study of 109 juvenile offenders indicated that family structure significantly predicts delinquency.Source: Bush, Connee, Ronald L. Mullis, and Ann K. Mullis. “Differences in Empathy Between Offender and Nonoffender Youth.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence 29 (August 2000): 467-478.


• Adolescents, particularly boys, in single-parent families were at higher risk of status, property and person delinquencies. Moreover, students attending schools with a high proportion of children of single parents are also at risk.Source: Anderson, Amy L. “Individual and contextual influences on delinquency: the role of the single-parent family.” Journal of Criminal Justice 30 (November 2002): 575-587.


• A study of 13,986 women in prison showed that more than half grew up without their father. Forty-two percent grew up in a single-mother household and sixteen percent lived with neither parent. (Fathers and Daughters)Source: Snell, Tracy L and Danielle C. Morton. Women in Prison: Survey of Prison Inmates, 1991. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, 1994: 4.


• Even after controlling for community context, there is significantly more drug use among children who do not live with their mother and father.Source: Hoffmann, John P. “The Community Context of Family Structure and Adolescent Drug Use.” Journal of Marriage and Family 64 (May 2002): 314-330.


• Youths are more at risk of first substance use without a highly involved father. Each unit increase in father involvement is associated with 1% reduction in substance use. Living in an intact family also decreases the risk of first substance use.Source: Bronte-Tinkew, Jacinta, Kristin A. Moore, Randolph C. Capps, and Jonathan Zaff. “The influence of father involvement on youth risk behaviors among adolescents: A comparison of native-born and immigrant families.” Article in Press. Social Science Research December 2004.


• Of the 228 students studied, those from single-parent families reported higher rates of drinking and smoking as well as higher scores on delinquency and aggression tests when compared to boys from two-parent households.Source: Griffin, Kenneth W., Gilbert J. Botvin, Lawrence M. Scheier, Tracy Diaz and Nicole L. Miller. “Parenting Practices as Predictors of Substance Use, Delinquency, and Aggression Among Urban Minority Youth: Moderating Effects of Family Structure and Gender.” Psychology of Addictive Behaviors 14 (June 2000): 174-184.


• In a study of INTERPOL crime statistics of 39 countries, it was found that single parenthood ratios were strongly correlated with violent crimes. This was not true 18 years ago.Source: Barber, Nigel. “Single Parenthood As a Predictor of Cross-National Variation in Violent Crime.” Cross-Cultural Research 38 (November 2004): 343-358

Today, pray for your community and pray that young boys who are growing up without a dad will find a father figure that will help them to make good choices.

Facts on Fatherhood - Day 3

Facts on Fatherhood - Day 3!

Repeat: General Fatherhood Data

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 25 million children live apart from their biological fathers (http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/p70-114.pdf). That is 1 out of every 3 (34.5%) children in America. Nearly 2 in 3 (65%) African American children live in father-absent homes. Nearly 4 in 10 (36%) Hispanic children, and nearly 3 in 10 (27%) white children live in father-absent homes.

The fact is that some children are fatherless because their father is apart from them for various reasons. One major reason that many men are seperated from their families is because of incarceration. Consider this...

Father Factor in Incarceration

• Even after controlling for income, youths in father-absent households still had significantly higher odds of incarceration than those in mother-father families. Youths who never had a father in the household experienced the highest odds.Source: Harper, Cynthia C. and Sara S. McLanahan. “Father Absence and Youth Incarceration.” Journal of Research on Adolescence 14 (September 2004): 369-397.
• A 2002 Department of Justice survey of 7,000 inmates revealed that 39% of jail inmates lived in mother-only households. Approximately forty-six percent of jail inmates in 2002 had a previously incarcerated family member. One-fifth experienced a father in prison or jail.Source: James, Doris J. Profile of Jail Inmates, 2002. (NCJ 201932). Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, July 2004.

Today, pray for the children that have fathers who are incarcerated.

Facts on Fatherhood - Day 2

Day 2 - Understand that Fathers are essential from the beginning of life.

Repeat: General Fatherhood Data

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 25 million children live apart from their biological fathers (http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/p70-114.pdf). That is 1 out of every 3 (34.5%) children in America. Nearly 2 in 3 (65%) African American children live in father-absent homes. Nearly 4 in 10 (36%) Hispanic children, and nearly 3 in 10 (27%) white children live in father-absent homes.

What that means is that 1 out of every 3 children in America start out without an involved father. consider this...

Father Factor in Maternal and Infant Health

• Infant mortality rates are 1.8 times higher for infants of unmarried mothers than for married mothers. Source: Matthews, T.J., Sally C. Curtin, and Marian F. MacDorman. Infant Mortality Statistics from the 1998 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set. National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 48, No. 12. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, 2000.


• Based on birth and death data for 217,798 children born in Georgia in 1989 and 1990, infants without a father’s name on their birth certificate (17.9 percent of the total) were 2.3 times more likely to die in the first year of life compared to infants with a father’s name on their birth certificate. Source: Gaudino, Jr., James A., Bill Jenkins, and Foger W. Rochat. “No Fathers’ Names: A Risk Factor for Infant Mortality in the State of Georgia, USA.” Social Science and Medicine 48 (1999): 253-265.


• Unmarried mothers are less likely to obtain prenatal care and more likely to have a low birth-weight baby. Researchers find that these negative effects persist even when they take into account factors, such as parental education, that often distinguish single-parent from two-parent families.” Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Public Health Service. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. Report to Congress on Out-of-Wedlock Childbearing. Hyattsville, MD (Sept. 1995): 12.


• Expectant fathers can play a powerful as advocates of breastfeeding to their wives. Three-fourths of women whose partners attended a breastfeeding promotion class initiated breastfeeding.Source: Wolfberg, Adam J., et al. “Dads as breastfeeding advocates: results from a randomized controlled trial of an educational intervention.” American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 191 (September 2004): 708-712.


• Fathers’ knowledge about breastfeeding increases the likelihood that a child will be breastfed. Children who fathers knew more had a 1.76 higher chance of being breastfed at the end of the first month and 1.91 higher chance of receiving maternal milk at the end of the third month.Source: Susin, Lurie R.O. “Does Parental Breastfeeding Knowledge Increase Breastfeeding Rates?” BIRTH 26 (September 1999): 149-155.


• Twenty-three percent of unmarried mothers in large U.S. cities reported cigarette use during their pregnancy. Seventy-one percent were on Medicare.Source: McLanahan, Sara. The Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study: Baseline National Report. Table 7. Princeton, NJ: Center for Research on Child Well-being, 2003: 16.


• A study of 2,921 mothers revealed that single mothers were twice as likely as married mothers to experience a bout of depression in the prior year. Single mothers also reported higher levels of stress, fewer contacts with family and friends, less involvement with church or social groups and less overall social support.Source: Cairney, John and Michael Boyle et al. “Stress, Social Support and Depression in Single and Married Mothers.” Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 38 (August 2003): 442-449.


• In a longitudinal study of more than 10,000 families, researchers found that toddlers living in stepfamilies and single-parent families were more likely to suffer a burn, have a bad fall, or be scarred from an accident compared to kids living with both of their biological parents. Source: O’Connor, T., L. Davies, J. Dunn, J. Golding, ALSPAC Study Team. “Differential Distribution of Children’s Accidents, Injuries and Illnesses across Family Type.” Pediatrics 106 (November 2000): e68.


• A study of 3,400 middle schoolers indicated that not living with both biological parents quadruples the risk of having an affective disorder. Source: Cuffe, Steven P., Robert E. McKeown, Cheryl L. Addy, and Carol Z. Garrison. “Family Psychosocial Risk Factors in a Longitudinal Epidemiological Study of Adolescents.” Journal of American Academic Child Adolescent Psychiatry 44 (February 2005): 121-129.


• Children who live apart from their fathers are more likely to be diagnosed with asthma and experience an asthma-related emergency even after taking into account demographic and socioeconomic conditions. Unmarried, cohabiting parents and unmarried parents living apart are 1.76 and 2.61 times, respectively, more likely to have their child diagnosed with asthma. Marital disruption after birth is associated with a 6-fold increase in the likelihood a children will require an emergency room visit and 5-fold increase of an asthma-related emergency.Source: Harknett, Kristin. Children’s Elevated Risk of Asthma in Unmarried Families: Underlying Structural and Behavioral Mechanisms. Working Paper #2005-01-FF. Princeton, NJ: Center for Research on Child Well-being, 2005: 19-27.

Today, pray for the new dads that you know. Pray that they can and will always be involved, committed, and responisble in the lived of their children.

Fifty Days of Fatherhood - Day One

Thank you for joining with me on this journey. For the next fifty days we will be looking at, thinking about, and praying for fathers across our country. My prayer is that you will discover the awesome joy of being an involved, responsible, and committed father.

Today, begin by thinking about the importance of fathers.

General Fatherhood Data:

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 25 million children live apart from their biological fathers (http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/p70-114.pdf). That is 1 out of every 3 (34.5%) children in America. Nearly 2 in 3 (65%) African American children live in father-absent homes. Nearly 4 in 10 (36%) Hispanic children, and nearly 3 in 10 (27%) white children live in father-absent homes.

Fathers impacrt every area of our society. Over the next few days we will be looking at each of these areas. But consider this today...

Father Factor in Poverty

• Children in father-absent homes are five times more likely to be poor. In 2002, 7.8 percent of children in married-couple families were living in poverty, compared to 38.4 percent of children in female-householder families.Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Children’s Living Arrangements and Characteristics: March 2002, P200-547, Table C8. Washington D.C.: GPO, 2003.


• During the year before their babies were born, 43% of unmarried mothers received welfare or food stamps, 21% received some type of housing subsidy, and 9% received another type of government transfer (unemployment insurance etc.). For women who have another child, the proportion who receive welfare or food stamps rises to 54%.Source: McLanahan, Sara. The Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study: Baseline National Report. Princeton, NJ: Center for Research on Child Well-being, 2003: 13.


• A child with a nonresident father is 54 percent more likely to be poorer than his or her father.Source: Sorenson, Elaine and Chava Zibman. “Getting to Know Poor Fathers Who Do Not Pay Child Support.” Social Service Review 75 (September 2001): 420-434.


• When compared by family structure, 45.9% of poor single-parent families reported material hardship compared to 38.6% of poor two parent families. For unpoor families who did not experience material hardship, 23.3% were single-parent families compared to 41.2% of two-parent families.Source: Beverly, Sondra G., “Material hardship in the United States: Evidence from the Survey of Income and Program Participation.” Social Work Research 25 (September 2001): 143-151.3

The message is clear - fathers clearly impact the sustainability of the family and children who don't have involved, responsible, and committed fathers face extra hardships.

Be a Part of My Fatherhood Fifty

As many of you know a couple of years ago I joined an organization entitled the National Fatherhood Initiative (http://www.fatherhood.org/). Growing up with a good dad I always recognized the importance of a good dad, but having heard the stories of both good and bad dads over the past couple of years I have been deeply touched about the importance of helping dads become involved, responsible and committed in the lives of their children and families.

I don't normally ask for others to become involved with all that God reveals to me or that I become interested in, but I have felt an extra need in this area. The body of research that forms the basis for the National Fatherhood Initiative's (NFI's) important work is overwhelming. Currently, one out of every three children in the U.S. is growing up in a home without their biological father. This number rises to 2 out of 3 in African-American communities. Studies consistently show that kids who grow up without fathers in the home, on average, do worse across every economic, psychological, social, and educational measurement. Kids from father absent homes are:

• Five times more likely to live in poverty


• Three times more likely to fail in school


• Two times more likely to abuse drugs


• Two times more likely to become involved in crime


• Two times more likely to be abused and neglected


• Three times more likely to commit suicide

In addition to these staggering statistics, we recently released a study titled, "The One Hundred Billion Dollar Man: The Annual Public Costs of Father Absence." This study was carried out by independent researchers who found that the issue of father absence is costing the federal government $100 billion a year in the form of support for single-mother households and child support enforcement. Clearly, the issue of father absence has far reaching and damaging consequences for our nation's children and for our society as a whole.

Since 1994, NFI has taken an innovative approach to addressing the problem of father absence.

I am now reaching out to you as my personal friends because God has given me the vision of rasing up 49 other individuals that are committed to this father cause. I am asking you to join me to form a group that I am going to call the "fatherhood fifty." All I am asking you to do is to say 50 prayers over 50 days concerning NFI, fatherhood, your children and the children that go to bed everynight without a father.

Additionally, I am asking that you make a one time gift of $50.00 to the National Fatherhood Initiative. Please join me in this important cause. You can join me by 1. Sending me an e-mail committing to be one of the fatherhood 50. 2. Send a check made out to NFI to me at 101 Lake Forest Blvd Gaithersburg MD 20877 and 3. Starting November 13th pray for NFI and for your children every day for the rest of the year (50 Days). Thanks again and I look forward to accomplishing great things with your help.

Ken