Promoting Father Involvement

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Promoting Father Involvement
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Jennifer L. Baker, Psy.D. Anne B. Summers, Ph.D.
Debbi Steinmann, M.A. Training Instructor /
MentorsMelissa A. Gibson, M.S. Kim Rozell, M.A.
Graduate AssistantsBrent Anderson, M.S.
Matthew Biller, M.A. Cate Brandon, M.A Dawn
Clinard, M.A.Jessie Clinton, M.S. Tabitha
Carlson, M.S.Anup Jonathan Tony Larson, B.A.
Nicole Mannis, M.A.Robert Mindrup,
M.S.S.W.Colleen Quinn, Ph.D. Amber Schafer,
M.A. Amanda Schroeder, B.S.

• The Training for the Healthy Marriage and Family
  Formation curriculum was created through the
  cooperative efforts of

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Why Be Concerned With Father Involvement?

• 1996 United States became the worlds leader in
  fatherless families.
• Mother-only households grew from 7.7 in 1960 to
  21.6 in 1990.
• 2000 25 of Americas children lived in
  mother-only families.
• Of these mother-only households, the percentage
  of mothers who had never been married increased
  from 3.9 in 1960 to 31.5 in 1990.

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Children Living Without their Biological Father

• Nearly 40 of all children.
• Almost half of the 40 havent seen their father
  for at least a year.
• Over 50 of children born in the U.S. will spend
  half of their childhood in a father-absent
  household.

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Locating Data in Your Area

• Office of Child Support Enforcement Website
• http//www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cse/extinf.htm
• Kids Count 2004 Data Book Online
• http//www.aecf.org/kidscount/databook/

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Father Presence Enhances

• Fetal and infant
• development.
• Physical well being
• perceptual abilities.
• Competency for
• relatedness with others.
• Competence, self-
• reliance, and ambition.
• Initiative and self-
• control.

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Father InvolvementDecreases

• Poor school performance or drop out.
• Early and promiscuous sex.
• Influence of peer pressure.
• Engagement in criminal behavior.
• Drug use.

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Father Involvement Decreases

• Poverty
• Child Abuse
• Emotional and Behavioral Problems
• Children in two-parent families simply do better.

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Father Absence Linked to Early Sexual Activity
and Teenage Pregnancy

• Study in the U.S. and New Zealand found
• Father absence was a risk factor for early sexual
  activity and adolescent pregnancy.
• Father presence was a major protective factor
  against early sexual activity.
• Girls with early father absence had the highest
  rates of both early sexual activity and
  adolescent pregnancy.

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Importance of Marriage on Father Involvement

• Marriage increases father involvement.
• Fathers who live with their children
• spend more time with them.
• contribute greater financial resources to their
  support.
• have greater input on decisions that affect
  childrens lives.

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Importance of Marriage on Father Involvement

• Studies reveal that even in high-crime inner-city
  neighborhoods, well over 90 of children from
  safe, stable, two-parent homes do not become
  delinquents.

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Transition to Fatherhood

• Occurs primarily through
• Birth of Child.
• Secondarily through
• Marriage (step-parenting)
• Adoption

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Expectant and New Fatherhood

• Becoming a father consists of three
  sub-processes
• Grasp the reality of the pregnancy and child.
• Strive for recognition as a parent from others.
• Begin to construct and assume the role of an
  involved father.

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National Fatherhood Initiative

• Founded in 1994 to lead a society-wide movement
  to confront the problem of father absence.
• NFIs mission is to improve the well being of
  children by increasing the proportion of children
  growing up with involved, responsible, and
  committed fathers.
• www.fatherhood.org

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Challenges

• Relational conflict.
• Time demands of work.
• Family of origin.
• Attitudes, motivation and skills.
• Age when becoming a father.
• Childs gender.

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Relational Conflict

• Constant fighting and conflict often cause
  fathers to withdraw from their children.
• Mothers feelings about father can affect how
  much he is involved.
• Angry mothers are much more likely to try to
  exclude father involvement.

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Relational Conflict

• Father involvement increases when mother
  believes
• He is competent at childcare.
• He is interested in participating in childcare.
• His involvement is seen as valuable.
• Father involvement decreases when
• mothers are critical or judgmental of fathers
  care-giving ability.

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Time Demands

• Emotional climate of work
• High stress jobs have spill over effect.
• Job satisfaction promotes healthy interaction.
• Work socialization impacts fathering
• Those in highly autonomous jobs value
  independence in their children.
• Fathers in highly supervised jobs tend to value
  obedience and conformity.

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Family of Origin

• Fathers relationship to his own family of
  origin.
• Modeling learning the role by example.
• Compensation if their example was negative men
  attempt to make up for this in their own
  parenting style.
• Attitudes, motivations, and beliefs.

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Age

• Younger fathers are more likely to

• Be less educated.
• Have lower academic abilities.
• Became sexually active earlier.
• Be involved in crime.

Older fathers are more likely to have

• Less financial strain.
• More job flexibility.
• Greater confidence in ones role as a father.

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Childs Gender

• A higher percentage of male children in the
  household was associated with increased father
  involvement over time.
• Fathers with all male children showed a greater
  increase of involvement over time than fathers
  with all female children.

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Childs Gender

• Fathers
• Touch and talk more with newborn boys.
• Vocalize more to their sons.
• Are more responsive to a sons vocalizations.
• Are more likely to engage in physical activities
  like tossing/lifting with a son than a daughter.

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Fatherhood Programs and Resources

• Transition to Fatherhood
• Loves Cradle
• Becoming Parents Program
• Boot Camp for Dads
• Promoting Father Involvement
• 24/7 Dads
• Dads at a Distance
• Fathers Reading Every Day (FRED)

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Fatherhood Programs

• Loves Cradle

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Fatherhood Programs

• 24/7 Dad AM
• 24/7 Dad PM

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Fatherhood Programs

• Dads at a Distance
• -Military
• -Travel for work
• -Incarcerated
• www.daads.com

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Websites

• National Fatherhood Initiative
• http//www.fatherhood.org
• The Center for Successful Fathering
• http//www.fathering.org
• The National Center for Fathering
• http//www.fathers.com

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Questions