Fathers are not second class parents. They are not babysitters. They are not creeps, oafs, clowns, pay cheques, or deadbeats. They are just as important as any parent, especially to boys, and essential to socialising children into healthy and happy adults. They are needed. Yet they are frequently mocked, patronised and down played; their rights are stripped away, and freedoms curtailed. And let’s be clear on one thing – we cannot expect fathers to be equally committed parents, if we are not going to give them equal parental rights, equal respect, and equal time with their children. There is no negotiating, no ifs, or buts. For the statistics linking fatherlessness to crime in adolescence, poverty, school dropouts, runaway children and sexual violence is clear and striking. And the annoying thing is, we’ve *already learnt this lesson* thirty years ago with mothers – check out the Donohue Levitt theory here ≥ #donohuelevitttheoryyttm <. But sometimes the data isn’t enough, sometimes stories can be more convincing, especially ones involving my second favourite animal – the elephant. The elephant. One of the smartest, kindest and noble animals on the planet – so what can they tell us about the importance of fathers, especially to boys? 🐘 ~ Full Story here Obama Speech Images by Geran de Klerk, AJ Robbie, Bisakha Datta, Patrick Baum, James Eades and Dan Cristian Padure from Unsplash.

2022-10-25