News, Advice, and Tips for Parenting Teenagers

Another Father's Day has come and gone -- but that doesn't mean we should stop reflecting upon the ways in which fathers impact the lives of their children. Though some people downplay the role fathers play in the lives of their children, research has shown that this mindset is misguided:

"Statistics show that children who grow up in homes without a strong male role model have higher rates of teen pregnancy, drug abuse and alcoholism," Camilla Olive wrote in a June 28 editorial on the PennLive website. "These at-risk kids also will raise the bar on high school dropout rates, criminal activity and divorce."

Even when parents divorce, it's important for a father to maintain close, healthy relationships with his kids, Olive wrote -- regardless of the quality of the father's relationship with the children's mother.

Labels: divorce, drug abuse prevention, fathers

Posted By: Aspen/CRC