Every year when people across the country celebrate Father’s Day as they did this weekend, I wonder what it’s like. Because I, like an overwhelming number of Americans, grew up without a father.

Today, about 50% of America’s children will spend their entire childhood in an intact family, and out of the other 50% who don’t, 40% of them have no contact with their father.¹

Although fatherlessness only affects half the population, the consequences of fatherlessness hurt us all. For example, 70% of all long-term prisoners are from fatherless homes², as are nearly 80% of children with psychiatric and behavioral problems.³ And those statistics are just the tip of the iceberg.

I made the video below to share some of these facts and more. In the video I share some of my personal experience of growing up fatherlessness, and talk about the middle of the night phone call that, after years of not knowing, finally revealed the truth to me about where my father was.

If you are someone who wanted to spend Father’s day with your child but didn’t, after watching this video maybe next year, you will, because hopefully watching it will make it frighteningly clear to you how much you need to start being a real father to your child today.

Apologies in advance for any mistakes in the video – this is my very first vlog so I was very nervous – but I urge each and every one of you reading this to watch this video in it’s entirety…if you’re already a great dad, then kudos to you!

But if not, or you grew up fatherless, or you have a fatherless child, or you are an absent father, or you’re just interested in the subject, I’m asking you for the sake of our children to please take fourteen minutes out of your time and please watch it (it’s one video cut in two parts).

Part 2

Thank you for taking the time to watch my video! It was very hard for me to make, so I really appreciate it.

Sources

1. Fatherhood Facts

2. Fatherhood Facts

3. Operation No Gangs

4. From the video – “…while girls from intact homes grow up with a feeling of acceptance, knowing they are loved by at least one male, females without father figures often become desperate for male attention, leading girls like me to be 111% more likely to have a child as a teen and 164% more likely to be a single parent.” Source: 2001 article from the College Student Journal

5. From the video – “….63% of youth suicides, and 85% of all youths in prisons are from fatherless homes.” Source: Divorce360

6. From the video – “….Some statistics even suggest that the biggest predictor of how crime ridden a community will be is not the community’s poverty level, but how many fatherless homes there are in that community.” Source: Fatherhood Facts

7. From the video – “…a biological father’s absence actually increases his daughter’s vulnerability to rape and sexual abuse by a whopping 900%.” Source: Divorce Online

8. From the video – “Statistically, the likelihood that a young male like Mike will engage in criminal activity doubles if he is raised without a father, and triples if he lives in a neighborhood with a high concentration of single-parent families. And perhaps even more disturbingly, 80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from fatherless homes.” Source: Life Coaches

9. From the video – “…fatherless homes account for 63% of youth suicides…” Source: Life Coaches

10. From the video – “…85% of children with behavior problems, 71% of high school dropouts, 85% of youths in prison…” Source: Counselor Link

11. From the video – “…children of divorce are 50% more likely than children from intact families to divorce…” Source: Counselor Link

Before you go…

Are you also from a fatherless home?

Do you also wonder what it’s like every year to celebrate Father’s Day?

Shoot, do you just wonder what it’s like to have a father?

Did you grow up with a father and find these statistics surprising?

Just wanna say something about this blog entry, or my video? Let’s hear it!

I’d love to hear from you.