What Mothers Say About Fathers

Posted by rfathers on January 14, 2010

This morning I received my regular e-mail newsletter from the National Fatherhood Initiative. I noticed a big ad on their website announcing the release of the first-ever national survey taking an in-depth look at how today’s mothers view fathers and fatherhood.

The 36-page report, Mama Says: A National Survey of Mothers’ Attitudes on Fathering (as well as other smaller summaries), is available on their website (National Fatherhood Initiative).

Below are the Top 14 Findings of the report, copied from this website: Top 14 Findings.

Top 14 Findings – What do moms really think?

1. 93% of moms believe there is a father absence crisis.
2. Most moms think dad is replaceable.
3. Married and cohabiting moms were happier with dads’ performance than moms not living with dad.
4. Married moms believe more in the power of marriage to help dad be the best he can be than moms who are cohabitating or separated from dad.
5. Dads of young children got better marks than dads of teens.
6. Closeness to children and work-family balance were the biggest predictors of mom’s satisfaction with dad (after living arrangement).
7. Most moms said they could do a better job of work-family balance if dad provided more help.
8. Moms said that “work responsibilities” were the biggest obstacle to dad’s success in fathering.
9. Strong religious values are beneficial to helping dads be better fathers.
10. Moms think communities of faith are the top place for dads to get fathering help.
11. Nonresident dads think they’re doing a better job than the moms who co-parent with them think they are.
12. African-American moms weren’t as happy as white or other minority moms, but most of the difference can be explained by living situation or family structure.
13. New romantic relationship for dads equals less happy moms.
14. Moms who aren’t living with the father of their children identified more and stronger obstacles to his ability to parent.

I am truly grateful to the National Fatherhood Initiative for putting this report together. I invite all of my readers to take a look at this report and the many others on fatherhood that are available on the National Fatherhood Initiative website.

We will definitely discuss this list in our next Joseph the Carpenter Focus Group Meeting (JCFG).

Please let us know what you think about the list of the Top 14 Findings by commenting below.

Thank you.
Akili

On the Outside Looking In

Posted by rfathers on December 22, 2008

On the Outside Looking In:
Hope for Separated Fathers Who Want To Be Good Fathers

by Akili Kumasi
ISBN #: 0-9626035-5-4 – ISBN-13: 978-0-9626035-5-6

Too many children grow up in father-absent families because of divorces, separations, and births to un-wed parents. Many have higher risks for academic, social and psychological problems. Pro-active fathers make a positive difference.

On the Outside Looking In encourages separated-fathers to step-to-the-plate with their children while:

• challenging them to be good fathers in spite of being separated from their children
• helping men become better parents

On the Outside Looking In will help separated-fathers:

• make relationships with their children work
• gain cooperation from their children?s mother
• obtain resources for help with starting over
• break the cycles of hopelessness
• See Table of Contents Below

Purchase a copy of On The Outside Looking In PAPERBACK BOOK Shipped in 24 hours Regular Price $10.95 Discount Price $9.85 — Save 10%

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Table of Contents – On The Outside Looking In

Introduction

Chapter One:

Breaking-Up Is Hard To Do

(The Social Phenomenon of the Separated Father)

Chapter Two:

Like Father ? Like Son

(The Impact of Father-Absent Families on Children)

Chapter Three:

Starting All Over Again

(Reconciling With Your Children)

Chapter Four:

Do The Right Thing

(Seven Principles of Good FatherHood)

Chapter Five:

Some Do’s and Don?ts for

(Creating The Right Relationship With Your Children)

Chapter Six:

Co-Parenting With Your Children’s Mother

(Winning Isn’t Everything)

Chapter Seven:

New Beginnings

(Dating, Marriage and Step-Parenting)

Epilogue: The Reconciled-Father

Appendix: Resources for the Reconciled-Father

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Purchase a copy of On The Outside Looking In PAPERBACK BOOK Shipped in 24 hours Regular Price $10.95 Discount Price $9.85 — Save 10%