With this being Father’s Day weekend, I want to take a look at just how important having a father is for a child. 

Now before I get into this, I’ll never suggest that a single mom can’t successfully raise a child by herself. I know better. I’ve seen it done plenty of times. And I know what we view as a family has been “re-defined” over the years, and many non-traditional families have had success raising kids, too.

But I also know that it’s hard if not impossible to dance around the fact that having a caring, nurturing father as part of the life experience of a child is one of the most consistent precursors of success for that young person to be found. 

Don’t believe me? Consider these statistics:

— 85% of youth who are currently in prison grew up in a fatherless home. (Texas Department of Corrections)

— 7 out of every 10 youths housed in state-operated correctional facilities, including detention and residential treatment, come from a fatherless home. (U.S. Department of Justice)

— 39% of students in the United States, from the first grade to their senior year of high school, do not have a father at home. Children without a father are four times more likely to be living in poverty than children with a father. (National Public Radio)

— Children from fatherless homes are twice as likely to drop out from school before graduating than children who have a father in their lives. (National Public Radio)

— Girls who live in a fatherless home have a 100% higher risk of suffering from obesity than girls who have their father present. Teen girls from fatherless homes are also four times more likely to become mothers before the age of 20. (National Public Radio)

— Nearly 70 % of African-American/Black babies are born into fatherless homes. Hispanic households have a 31% fatherless rate, while Caucasian/White households have a 20% fatherless rate. (National Public Radio)

— 34% of children in homes headed by a single mother were living in poverty. Just 12% of children in married-couple families were living in poverty. (U.S. Census Bureau)

— 75% of rapists are motivated by displaced anger that is associated with feelings of abandonment that involves their father. (U.S. Department of Justice)

—  Living in a fatherless home is a contributing factor to substance abuse, with children from such homes accounting for 75% of adolescent patients being treated in substance abuse centers. (U.S. Department of Justice)

— 85% of all children who exhibit some type of a behavioral disorder come from a fatherless home. (U.S. Department of Justice)

— 90% of the youth in the United States who decide to run away from home, or become homeless for any reason, originally come from a fatherless home. (U.S. Department of Justice)

— Even when poverty levels are equal, children who come from a two-parent home outperform children who come from a one-parent home. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)

— About 40% of children in the United States are born to mothers who are not married. Over 60% of these children were born to mothers who were under the age of 20. (CDC)

— The median income for a household with a single mother is $35,400. The median income for a home with a married couple raising their children is $85,300 in the United States. Two-thirds of low-income working families with children are in the African-American community. (U.S. Census Bureau)

— Children who live in a fatherless home are 279% more likely to deal drugs or carry firearms for offensive purposes compared to children who live with their fathers. (Allen and Lo)

— Pregnant women who do not have the support of the father experience pregnancy loss at a 48% rate. When the father is present, the prevalence of pregnancy loss falls to 22%. (Shah, Gee, and Theall)

There are plenty more statistically inarguable facts to illustrate the point, but you get the idea clearly enough. We can blame everything else under the sun we want to, but the basal importance of a father in a child’s existence cannot be emphasized enough. 

And let me be perfectly clear — when I say “father” I don’t mean a “baby daddy.” Any boy with man parts can get a woman pregnant and then just walk away from the responsibility. In fact, it seems that scenario is far too accepted today – which should be completely unacceptable.

No, when I say “father” I mean a role model, an involved, caring, mature adult make who steps up to the plate to be a consistently active and engaged point of leadership and stability in his child’s life. In fact, not only do they step up, but they embrace the role with every waking moment of their existence. 

I realize a significant percentage of the males who will read this didn’t have a father figure in their upbringing. But that doesn’t mean that arrangement is best, and most of them know as much all too well. 

Time was, and not too long ago, where being a father was the most sacred job a man could have. It literally is one of the most important ties that literally binds the generations of their family together. 

How any “man” could take that lightly is simply beyond my comprehension. 

So on this day of all days, let’s celebrate the fathers who “get it,” and then pray that those who don’t soon will.