The Absence of a Father

Fathers are unique in that they provide something different and special from what mothers provide. Today, in America one out of every three children is living in a home without his or her father. That means that one out of three children in America will go to bed tonight without getting a goodnight hug and kiss from there daddy. It is estimated that 60 percent of children that were born in the 1990s will live a portion of their childhoods in a home without a father figure. Some people believe that there is no real significances to having a father be present in a child’s life. However, research and personal experience shows differently. When a father is absent in a child’s life, the child suffers emotionally, and behaviorally. Kids that grow up without a father figure are more likely to get involved with drugs, sexual encounters, and crime. It is important to stress that the absence of any parent places a void and a hole in a child's life forever.
As young children, the fact that there is not a father figure may be overlook, but as they grow older they will began to sense the fragmented family relationship. Most often children will be able to feel the incompleteness of not having a father, which in an effort to fill the emptiness, children often try to fill this void with drugs. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states, "Fatherless children are at a dramatically greater risk of drug and alcohol abuse." When a child uses drugs to fill the emptiness, it can be the start of a spiral to the tragedy of a horrible childhood. Although some children do not get involved with drugs, in order to fill the void of emptiness a child may do other harmful activities such as joining gangs or even attempting suicide. I have came to find it very clear that children growing up without a father figure tend to have an overall increased risk of developing significant issues. However, by no means am I saying that all children who grow up without fathers will face