Importance of Fatherhood
It seems so simple, really. Just a name on a form. But babies whose fathers are identified on their birth certificate have a much better chance of surviving that first precious year of life than their peers, research reveals.
(To read more about a Children's Services Council analysis that highlights the impact a father's involvement makes in a child's birth outcome, click here.)
And that’s only the beginning. The statistical connection between father involvement and child development, while often underplayed in our society, is startling. A father’s impact touches every aspect of a child’s life: his health, his safety, his happiness, his success in school and in relationships. Consider the following:
- Children in father-absent homes are 5 times more likely to be poor than their peers.
- Infants without a father’s name on their birth certificate were 2.3 times more likely to die in the first year of life compared to their peers.
- Living in a single-parent home doubles the risk that a child will suffer physical, emotional, or educational neglect.
- Children in father-absent homes are 1.6 to 1.8 times more likely to use tobacco and are 1.5 to 1.9 times more likely to use alcohol.
- Teens without fathers were twice as likely to be involved in early sexual activity and 7 times more likely to get pregnant.
- Fatherless children are twice as likely to drop out of school.
Source: The Father Factor, from the National Fatherhood Initiative
Read more information about the importance of Fatherhood in CSC's newsletter, For Our Children.