A deadbeat dad is a biological father who refuses to live up to his financial responsibilities to his child. Any man who fathers a child and fails to support that child financially, whether or not mandated by a court to pay child support, is considered a deadbeat dad. A biological father can be classified as deadbeat regardless of whether he is or ever was married to the mother of his child because fatherhood, not marriage, determines responsibility. A deadbeat dad can be distinguished from other deadbeat citizens who default on their legal debts because the deadbeat dad harms those for whom he is morally responsible.
The effects of a deadbeat father extend beyond the material realm of financial deprivations, for children of deadbeat dads often suffer from feelings of low self-worth and abandonment. Long after a child has grown up, he may still harbor resentment and hostility toward male authority figures as a result of his deadbeat dad.
Deadbeat Dads (essay)
In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed into law legislation that would make it easier for states to track down fathers who fail to make their child support payments. As a result of this legislation, the paychecks of delinquent fathers can be garnished in order to recover child support payments. The problem of deadbeat dads is larger than most people suspect. Nationwide, millions of men have defaulted on their court-mandated child support payments. And this number doesn’t include the millions of men who have fathered children whom they have never acknowledged or taken responsibility for. Any man who fathers a child and fails to support that child financially, whether or not he was married to the mother of his child, and whether or not he was mandated by a court to pay child support, should be considered a deadbeat dad. A deadbeat dad is a biological father who refuses to live up to his financial responsibilities to his child. (Introduction