I agree 100% with the article, it's something I can verify based on my own life. I've always believed to have the best chance at success a child needs a mother and father. That doesn't mean one can't succeed without a father, but it does mean it's much harder and there are a lot more obstacles that will make a kid less likely to succeed if they don't have a father in their life.This is true for both boys and girls but especially boys. There are many things only a father can teach his son and several things that are best learned from a father, even though a mother can take on that role if necessary. Just like there are many things only a mother can teach.I would say the main benefit from having a father isn't what he can teach, although that's crucial. It's his ability to affirm his kids and give them the sense of identity and character that comes from knowing you're loved by your father. It's what builds a boy into a man.There's tons of evidence to back this idea up. Studies have shown that boys who are raised without fathers are much more likely to be high school and college drop outs, do drugs, be sexually promiscuous and at a younger age, and end up in prison than boys who were raised by a father.A father who is always around is a stabilizing presence on the male mind at a young age, and without that stability a void is created, and they subconsciously try to fill that void with bad relationships and risky behaviors to make up for the love and attention they never got from their dad.

I was one of the exceptions in regards to the risky behavior, but I did end up making several bad decisions in my life that I know in hindsight I wouldn't have made if I had a father growing up. I haven't had quality relationships in my life because of that lack of affirmation causing me not to trust people and to put up a wall of self defense and not let people get to really know me.I've gotten more confident and trusting as I've gotten older, but it was a painful experience that was filled with mistakes and failures that came from lack of guidance and a subconscious desire to prove myself and to be accepted by others, again, developed because of that void I needed to fill that should've been filled by a father.I think the lack of fathers in this country is an epidemic right now, particularly in the black community, where 75% of babies are born to single moms out of wedlock, basically guaranteeing that an entire generation of young men are gonna be raised without the example of a father to show them how to treat women and how to be selfless and courageous.With the divorce rate staying around 50% in the US, this is a problem that pertains to all races and religions, and I believe we can trace the roots of many of the problems of our modern day society back to the breakdown of the family, and specifically to the absence of fathers in the lives of young boys and girls.Don't get me wrong, single moms can do a great job teaching values to their kids, and my mom certainly tried, but in the end she just couldn't be a mom and a dad and teach us the things only a dad can properly teach. And the truth is many single moms are busy trying to make ends meet working several jobs so they just don't have time to spend instilling these values into their kids, because that takes lots of time and attention, which they simply don't have.As you can see this is an issue I'm passionate about, it's something I've thought about a lot for many years, but I can't overstate how important I think it is, in fact our future as a country depends in part on fixing this problem before it's too late. Cause it's a vicious cycle, those young men and women who grow up without fathers often aren't taught the values they need to be responsible adults and good mothers and fathers, wives and husbands themselves, and end up raising kids who will inherit all those problems and the ripple of effects on society that come from them.So that's my rant on fatherhood lol, I could go on but that's more appropriate for an essay, not a message to you.