Responsible fatherhood

The number of children living in single-parent households has increased since the 1960s. Approximately 9% of children under 18 lived with a single parent in 1960;[1] by 2007 this rate had increased to nearly 32%.[2] The largest growth occurred between 1970 and 1985, when the growth of single-mother families leveled off.[3] This shift is attributed to a variety of widely recognized social changes that occurred in American society in the 1960s and 1970s: changing sexual morals increased the prevalence of sexual activity outside of marriage and decreased the stigma surrounding out-of-wedlock births; American attitudes about marriage and divorce changed; and women made economic gains that increased their independence and ability to leave unhappy marriages. While the social science community of the 1960s and 1970s initially regarded single-mother households as "just another alternative family form", evidence began to surface in the late 1970s demonstrating that children raised in households where the father was absent were disadvantaged relative to other children.[4]

In 2008 in the United States there were an estimated 28 million children growing up in households without fathers.[5]

Along with the changes in family formation in the latter part of the 20th century, the issue of healthy, responsible fatherhood also began to gain attention. In 1974, Dr. James A. Levine published Who Will Raise the Children? New Options for Fathers (and Mothers).[6] In this report, "Levine suggested that the long-term goal of equal opportunity for women in American society would never be achieved without serious and meaningful recognition of the significance, interest, and responsibility of fathers in children's lives. Levine called for changes in major social institutions, changes in how families raise boys and girls, and changes in the mutual expectations of men and women as they form families."[7]

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, a national responsible fatherhood movement began to take form in the United States. "Within this 'movement,' one may discern a range of groups with competing masculinities and contesting claims and grievances....[T]he Fatherhood Responsibility Movement seeks to overcome barriers of income, race and politics."[8]

As the responsible fatherhood movement has matured, educational and social service programs have grown to meet the needs of fathers across the country. For example, in 1981, the Ford Foundation infused the first large-scale U.S. funding for responsible fatherhood programming through The Fatherhood Project, initially at Bank Street College of Education in New York and expanding across the nation at various other sites.[9] In 1985, the National Urban League began its Male Responsibility Project, focusing on fatherhood among teen parents.[10] By 1988 the U.S. federal Family Support Act included a provision that allowed states to use Welfare-to-Work funds, intended to help single mothers on welfare, to increase contact between noncustodial fathers and their children.[11] In 1991, the nation's first fathers' resource center was launched in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The number of services and supports for fathers continues to expand.

In the first years of the 21st century, there was a growing awareness about the importance of healthy father-child relationships. "Among these benefits are higher levels of school performance and increases in healthy behaviors... For example, children raised with significant positive father involvement display greater empathy, higher self-esteem, increased curiosity, higher verbal skills, and higher scores of cognitive competence."[12] Increasingly, the responsible fatherhood movement has defined itself by focusing on the development of healthy father-child relationships. A separate branch of the men's movement has been that related to Fathers' rights movement. In contrast, the responsible fatherhood movement embraces healthy motherhood and seeks to encourage stronger supports for mothers and fathers to grow as healthy parents.

Responsible fatherhood in the United States is traditionally defined by financial provision, declaring legal paternity, and active participating in caregiving tasks [13] Recent research suggests that low-income fathers may define responsible fatherhood with a different set of criteria that places more emphasis on time, play, and keeping an eye on the child's well-being, similar to a Big Brother or a social worker.[14]

In 2009, the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports in Singapore commissioned a survey on the perception of fatherhood. It polled 2,220 Singaporeans and permanent residents aged 18 and above. The findings:[15]

Fathers can be more involved in children's lives

• 99% think that both parents should be involved in their children's upbringing.
• 97% think fathers have an important parenting role
• 83% agree that fathers are involved in their children's lives
• 77% think fathers are as good as mothers in caring for children.

Fathers still seen primarily as breadwinners

What do you think are a father's roles and responsibilities? Respondents were asked to give up to three answers.

Top five answers:

• Be a breadwinner (46%)
• Be loving and provide emotional support towards children and family (36%)
• Help children with learning and school (18%)
• Be a role model for children (18%)
• Provide moral or spiritual guidance (17%)

Bottom five answers:

• Be involved in general upbringing of child (3%)
• Play with child (3%)
• Be the decision-maker or the "man" in the household (2%)
• Provide security or protection (1%)
• Be familiar with child's friends and social life (1%)

• Father figure
• Shared earning/shared parenting marriage
• Social father