Examples Of Fatherlessness In America

Fatherlessness in America Today’s society is crawling with vast amounts of different issues and problems. One of the major issues that many people face is the lack of a father figure in the household and in life. Author Louis de Bernieres once said, “In reality the world is as full of bad mothers as it is of bad fathers, and it is not the motherless children who become delinquent but the fatherless ones” and I believe that is one hundred percent true. About one in three babies born in the United States are born to a single mother each year. Fathers are becoming less and less present in today’s society, but children that grow up with their father around benefit in many ways and as seen in the story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” those who may …show more content…
The Misfit in the story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor is a perfect example of this. While it isn’t particularly clear on what exactly happened to this criminal’s father, the Misfit states that his father died, either by illness or that he murdered him when he was young but the story is unclear on what exactly happened (104). Without the guidance from his father, the Misfit turns to crime and with the help of his gang, kills an entire family. The research conducted by author Byron Roth, discusses this same issue. In his article, “Crime and Child-Rearing” he states, “The rapid growth of crime in our society over the past three decades does not derive from traditional male norms but from the decline of certain traditional male norms, particularly the norm of paternal obligation and the duty to provide for children” (40). This clearly shows that the typical family, with both parents present, doesn’t normally produce children who find themselves in criminal activities. With the father gone, young adults seek the love and attention, he would normally provide, in any other way they can. This usually ends up with children joining gangs at a young age, where they grow close to the other gang members and get praise and love for their criminal acts. Again author David Blankenhorn discusses this topic in his book, …show more content…
If you have a lot of it, life is good but unfortunately, if you do not have a lot of it, life can be very difficult. Raising a child can cost a lot of money, and a single mother does not usually make a good amount of money on her own. According to the CNN Money Network, on average today it costs about $250,000 to raise a child from birth until their eighteenth birthday, which is about $14,000 each year. This would cause anyone to stress, and a single mother has no one else to rely on to help earn this money. Author Haksoon Ahn, discusses this topic in full in his journal, “Economic Well-Being of Low-Income Single-Mother Families Following Welfare Reform in the USA.” He writes, “The costs of childcare for working women, especially for those moving from welfare to the labor market, places a way higher burden on low-income families than on high-income families” (14). With no father to contribute to the family, single mothers carry this burden on their own causing them to live in lower class areas where crime is high and the school systems are subpar. This high stress environment, places most of the mother’s attention to financially provide for her children, causing her to have multiple jobs and not a lot of time at home. This system allows for the child to become more independent but allows them the freedom to get into trouble and not do well in school, which continues the cycle of poor economic health. Author David Blankenhorn also