Woodbury Reports, Inc
Bonners Ferry, ID

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Fatherless Children:
Where Have All the Fathers Gone?

According to the US Census Bureau, over 24 million American children are living in households where no father or male role model is present. Today's guest, Jack Thurston, an Australian author, speaker and expert on the dilemma of the growing issue of fatherlessness and the impact it has on children and adolescents, joined Lon Woodbury on LA Talk Radio- Parent Choices for Struggling Teens, to discuss the devastating effects of this social issue.

The term absent father stems from WWII, in which during the war a vast population of men were serving overseas, leaving the families and creating a "physical absence" in the home. And now, 70 years later, the term has grown to include divorce, death, incarceration, emotional absence, psychological issues, substance abuse and fathers who are workaholics. And nowadays, there are many fathers that do not have the skill set to raise children, men who have never really grown up themselves. This dilemma has turned into a massive problem; whereas one in every three children lives without a father or male role model in their lives and for African American children, that number is two out of every three children. Jack was very specific in stating that this issue is spiraling and since 1960, the rate of fatherlessness has grown 3 times.

The impacts on our children with fatherless homes is mind numbing. The basic statistics Jack shared with Lon were overwhelming.

The following percentages of people with that problem who were raised in fatherless homes:
63% of suicides
90% of children that are homeless or runaways
85% with behavior problems
71% of high school drop outs
77% who have been in state institutions
85% who are in prison
In addition, compared to the whole population, the depression rate is higher, the number of high school graduates is lower, and there is lower job security, self esteem and self respect and an increase in substance abuse.

Jack, a father himself shared, "the role a mother plays in a child's life is very important and "a mother's love is always given, yet a father's love is psychologically earned. Without the physical presence of a father, the touch and the need for a father's physical stimulation is leaving our children feeling lost and alone."

To listen to the full interview go to Fatherless children: Where have all the fathers gone? on LATalkRadio.
Also available in Podcast

Lon Woodbury is the owner/founder of Woodbury Reports Inc. and www.strugglingteens.com. He has worked with families and struggling teens since 1984 and is the host of Parent Choices for Struggling Teens

Jack Thurston is the author of 'Bridging the Void', an outline of a fatherless generation and its impact on men, women and children and how they can move forward to be free of the crippling effects of father absence. Jack also facilitates workshops and is a public speaker on the subject of absentee fathers.

This segment was sponsored by Spring Ridge Academy, 928-632-4602, www.springridgeacademy.com, a Therapeutic Boarding School for Girls in Arizona.