Fathers aren't dispensable just yet

This story is a fascinating “take” on the differences between mothers and fathers, and possibly relevant to the debate over same sex parenting….

by Linda Geddes

YOU may be tempted to think men are becoming an optional extra in the mating game, but biochemical evidence in mice and people suggests that fathers may play a key role in the rearing of offspring. Previous studies have hinted at the importance of fathers in child-rearing. Some have shown that girls reach puberty younger, become sexually active earlier and are more likely to get pregnant in their teens if their father was absent when they were young. Others have suggested that the sons of absent fathers display lower intimacy and self-esteem.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327184.000-fathers-arent-dispensable-just-yet.html

For the men Pt II

Sheila Liaugminas

The feminization of society has taken a serious toll not only on boys but on families. Men need a boost.
NRO has a couple of them in two illuminating articles.
This one on manliness is a ’survival guide’ for the guys. And a darned interesting one. KJ Lopez interviews Frank Mintier about his new book.
I devoured Harvey Mansfield’s book Manliness. It’s a book that looks back across time to historically document the dismantling of manliness. Along the way it effectively defines manliness, and it articulates why so much in our modern culture is attacking masculinity. It’s a fine book. My book, on the other hand, is the antidote to the trend Mansfield so well outlines. The Ultimate Man’s Survival Guide is a how-to guide to becoming a hero, gentleman, survivor, philosopher, and more by tapping masters of different disciplines to teach the skills, philosophy, and bearing a well-rounded man should attain.
http://www.mercatornet.com/sheila_liaugminas/view/for_the_men_pt_ii/

75% of Americans say that being a dad is a man's most important job

Elijah Friedeman

According to a new Rasmussen poll, 75% of Americans think that "being a father is the most important role a man can fill in today’s world."
The poll also said that 14% disagree and 12% say they aren't sure.
Men were more likely than women to say that a man's most important job is being a dad with 78% of men and 72% of women agreeing.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Blog/Default.aspx?id=573296

Five Myths on Fathers and Family

By W. Bradford Wilcox

With Father’s Day almost upon us, expect a host of media stories on men and family life. Some will do a good job of capturing the changes and continuities associated with fatherhood in contemporary America. But other reporters and writers will generalize from their own unrepresentative networks of friends and family members, try to baptize the latest family trend, or assume that our society is heading ceaselessly in a progressive direction. So be on the lookout this week for stories, op-eds, and essays that include these five myths on contemporary fatherhood and family life.

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZTg3OTc1MWUwNDExZTI4MGZiMGMyY2UyZGU5ZTMwOGM=

A role the government can’t fill

Carolyn Moynihan

Inspiring words from the Commander-in-Chief during a young men’s barbecue at the White House on Friday. Students from local schools came to discuss the importance of fatherhood and taking personal responsibility with President Obama and other famous fathers.

http://www.mercatornet.com/family_edge/view/a_role_the_government_cant_fill/

Reliable dads deserve respect

Rebecca Hagelin

Recently I saw a MasterCard commercial in which a preteen son arrogantly "teaches" the father environmental lessons while grocery shopping. Right
After the son shows Dad the silly Earth-preserving "importance" of buying a reusable grocery bag, the tag line appears: "Helping your dad become a better man? Priceless."

Such subtle messages about the supremacy of children over their dads are now common. Turn on the television and watch just about any channel for one evening and a particularly disgusting pattern begins to emerge: The "dad" is often portrayed as wimpy, ignorant and doltish. Everyone is smarter and more mature than Dad is. Nearly everyone else is also more attractive and physically fit. You would think that all fathers have actually become Homer Simpson.
http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/reliable_dads_deserve_respect/

What we need is a fatherhood revolution

Warwick Marsh
The times they are a-changing. Being a dad is becoming cool.
Father's Day 2009 is being celebrated with a renewed sense of vigour and excitement. Fathers and children are appearing in more advertisements. The media are running father-friendly stories. Restaurants are booked out for Father's Day as well as Mother's Day.

When the Dads4Kids Fatherhood Foundation was formed in 2002 to help and encourage Australian dads, our television community service advertisements were initially threatened with a black ban by the Advertising Standards Board. Political correctness ruled the day and fathers were incorrect. This would not happen today. Fatherhood has become sexy, a newspaper here said recently. A quick squiz at pop culture supports this optimistic statement.

Take the 2003 film Finding Nemo. That was a story about a father fish looking for his son. Amazingly, it is well inside the top 20 grossing movies of all time. Just a bit further down that list are other popular movies with positive fatherhood themes: I am Sam, Dear Frankie, The Incredibles, Night at the Museum, Pursuit of Happyness, and the brilliant Australian movie with Eric Bana, Romulus My Father. Even Snoop Dogg is cashing in on the fatherhood revival with his Father Hood TV show.
http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/what_we_need_is_a_fatherhood_revolution/

Tiger Woods: ‘Nothing beats fun with the kids’

Carolyn Moynihan
What is it about golf and fatherhood? Jack Nicklaus was the super dad(of five) of his day. A few years ago it New Zealand whiz-kid MichaelCampbell who carried the torch for family life. Now it’s Tiger Woods,poster boy for Father’s Day as he delights in the recent expansion ofhis family.

http://www.mercatornet.com/family_edge/view/tiger_woods_nothing_beats_fun_with_the_kids/

Dear Dad, it’s been a long time…

Carolyn Moynihan
Father’s Day is celebrated this Sunday in the United States but thereare a great many families where dad is alienated from mum and/or hischildren. So the Ruth Institute has come up with a reconciliationproposal for these families, suggesting that “now would be a good timeto pick up the phone, or write a short note, opening the door forfurther communication.”

http://www.mercatornet.com/family_edge/view/dear_dad_its_been_a_long_time/

Love isn’t enough

Trayce L. Hansen Ph.D.

Mothers and fathers are not interchangeable. Children need the love of both.
Proponents of same-sex marriage believe the only thing children really need is love. Based on that supposition, they conclude it’s just as good for children to be raised by loving parents of the same sex, as it is to be raised by loving parents of the opposite sex. Unfortunately, that basic assumption—and all that flows from it—is false. Because love isn’t enough!

http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/love_isnt_enough/

Getting Ready for Father's Day

Dr. Morse and the Ruth Institute is gearing up for Father's Day in a different way. Do you have a father/ex-husband/estranged child it may be time to reconcile with? Check out the Ruth site here for help: http://ruthinstitute.org/fathersday/index.html

Also, we're compiling a list of the best movies to watch on Father's Day, ones that encompass what it means to be a real dad. Leave your favorite picks in the comment section. We'll post the top choices just before Father's Day.

Obama's Faith-Based Adviser Urges Challenge to ‘Heteronormative' Fatherhood

By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer

(CNSNews.com) - A controversial member of President Barack Obama’s faith-based council said that part of the administration’s role in promoting responsible fatherhood should include moving beyond America’s “heteronormative view of fatherhood.”
Harry Knox, appointed last month to the 25-member President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, has drawn fire for inflammatory comments about the Catholic Church and Pope Benedict XVI.

http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=48232

For Whom The Clock Ticks

Daniel Heimpel

A growing body of research supports the idea that there are biological disadvantages to late-in-life fatherhood. But will society's view of male fertility ever change?

http://www.newsweek.com/id/194871

Memo to the President

David Blankenhorn

"You wrote your first book about your father, and about fatherhood, and by all accounts you are a loving father and good husband. Our nation desperately needs more such men. There are plenty of worrisome statistics about the current state of our civil society, but to me here is by far the most worrisome: More than half of all U.S. children today are likely to spend at least a significant portion of their childhoods living apart from their fathers. For African American children, tragically, that figure is at least 80 percent."

http://www.americanvalues.org/html/obama_memo.html

What about those octuplets?

Jennifer Roback Morse

Government indifference to responsible fatherhood is what made the tragedy of OctoMom possible.

What are we to make of the case of Nadya Suleman, the California woman who gave birth to octuplets through IVF? The case has inspired lots of internet chatter and water cooler talk. I maintain that insurance and government funding are the least of the worries of this case. The case illustrates two deep problems with our current attitudes toward artificial reproductive technology (ART). First, no one has a right to have a baby. Second, the state should not be in the business of deliberately separating father from their children.

http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/what_about_those_octuplets/

Fathers Shoved Aside

I predicted that same sex marriage would further marginalize men from the family, and would result in the state determining, not just recording parentage. A report from the UK illustrates that I was not hyperventillating, but in fact, very sober-minded about this issue:

Single women having IVF will be able to name anyone they like as their baby's father on the birth certificate.
New regulations mean that a mother could nominate another woman to be her child's 'father'.
The 'father' does not need to be genetically related to the baby, nor be in any sort of romantic relationship with the mother.

This mean that "father" is strictly a legal term, not a name for a biological reality that exists independently of the state and its laws.

This raises the spectre of a legal minefield in which female 'fathers' will fight for visitation rights and be chased for child support payments if their fragile relationship with the mother breaks down.
The changes, due to come in on April 6, will apply to many of the 2,000 women a year who have IVF using sperm from anonymous donors.
The regulations are part of the controversial Embryology Bill passed by Parliament last year. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority said they will give lesbian couples in civil partnerships who undergo IVF the same rights as married heterosexual couples.

An unmarried man whose girlfriend has fertility treatment will also find it easier to claim full parental rights.

The new rules state: 'The women receiving treatment with donor sperm (or embryos created with donor sperm) can consent to any man or woman being the father or second parent.' The only exemption is close blood relatives.

Critics said the change would lead to the role of father being downgraded to the one of godfather and warned that the child would be the one to lose out.

I discuss this issue in Session 3, "Same Sex Marriage and the End of Gender" of my 4 part series, Same Sex Marriage Affects Everyone.
Get all my commentary, as it breaks, by signing up for the free Ruth Institute newsletter.

More on OctoDad

More on OctoDad here.

Where in the World is OctoDad?

asks Kay Hymowitz in today's Wall Street Journal.

Where is Octodad? Surely Ms. Suleman's babies have a father. Yet his role in the baby-palooza is barely mentioned. Not that this should surprise anyone. The reaction to Ms. Suleman and her brood typifies our cultural ambivalence about fathers, an ambivalence fed in no small measure by the fertility industry.
On first thought, Americans seem really keen on fathers. We fret about the emotional impact of father absence and insist "that responsibility does not end at conception," as then-candidate Barack Obama put it in a memorable speech last Father's Day. We excoriate "deadbeat dads" who fail to pay their share of their children's upbringing; in fact, the stimulus bill adds $1 billion to child-support enforcement. Married fathers who don't step up and share the burdens of diapers and pediatrician appointments are condemned, in the words of one much-discussed book of essays, as "bastards on the couch." After all, the argument goes, a father is just as much a parent as a mother.

Except when we decide he's not, as did Ms. Suleman and her medical enablers. According to media reports, the male friend who provided the sperm for all of Suleman's 14 children had begged her to stop after the first six -- to no avail.

I had an idea this must be the case: if there were an actual dad, making babies in the good old-fashioned natural way, by having an actual relationship with the mother, there wouldn't be a set-of-octuplets-born-to-a-single-mother-on-welfare story to talk about.

Having consented to the use of his sperm, he would have been expected to give up control over the future children created with them....
In recent years, medical science has also raised doubts about our frequent desire to wish fathers away. Every week, it seems, science confirms just how much genes matter. Everything from eye color, to propensity to high cholesterol, to a rotten disposition, to talent at math or tennis is encoded, to some degree, in the genetic material passed on from our two biological parents.

In Canada, donor children have brought a class-action suit demanding the same right to know their parentage that adoptive children there already have. For the same reason, Norway, the Netherlands and New Zealand have all banned donor anonymity, and Britain now requires donors to agree to be contacted when their children reach 18; unsurprisingly the country's sperm banks are now as depressed as its financial institutions. In the U.S., some sperm banks have begun to ask donors to volunteer to be identified to their children when they reach adulthood. Some agree; most do not.

And why would they agree? They know that even if fathers make good politics, they make dispensable parents.

read it all here.

The Father Factor: Advanced Paternal Age

We are used to the idea that advanced age of mothers places children at risk for Downs' Syndrome. New evidence is coming to light that the advanced age of fathers may be a factor as well. This article from Scientific American is based on the Israeli study I have already reported on this blog, here, here, here and here.
But the article has some new info as well:

Researchers had analyzed medical records in Israel, where all young men and most women must report to the draft board for mandatory medical, intelligence and psychiatric screening. They found that children born to fathers 40 or older had nearly a sixfold increase in the risk of autism as compared with kids whose fathers were younger than 30. Children of fathers older than 50—that includes me—had a ninefold risk of autism.

The researchers said that advanced paternal age, as they call it, has also been linked to an increased risk of birth defects, cleft lip and palate, water on the brain, dwarfism, miscarriage and “decreased intellectual capacity.”

What was most frightening to me, as someone with mental illness in the family, is that older fatherhood was also associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia. The risk rises for fathers with each passing year. The child of a 40-year-old father has a 2 percent chance of having schizophrenia—double the risk of a child whose father is younger than 30. A 40-year-old man’s risk of having a child with schizophrenia is the same as a 40-year-old woman’s risk of having a child with Down syndrome....
a 1912 study not(ed) that a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia was more common among the last-born children in families than among the first-born. Weinberg didn’t know why that was so, but he speculated that it might be related to the age of the parents, who were obviously older when their last children were born. Weinberg’s prescient observation was confirmed decades later when research showed that he was half right: the risk of dwarfism rose with the father’s age but not the mother’s.

Since then, about 20 inherited ailments have been linked to paternal age, including progeria, the disorder of rapid aging, and Marfan syndrome, a disorder marked by very long arms, legs, fingers and toes, as well as life-threatening heart defects. More recent studies have linked fathers’ age to prostate and other cancers in their children. And in September 2008 researchers linked older fathers to an increased risk of bipolar disorder in their children.

Read it all here.

Fathers for Good

A worthy video. Find it here.

The World Needs Good Fathers
A message from Carl A. Anderson, supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus