Involved Dads Give Kids an Edge (Canada)

September 15, 2011 — New data from a long-running study of Canadian families suggest that fathers play a key role in their children's intellect and behavior.

Compared with children with absentee fathers, children whose fathers were present and actively involved in their lives during early and middle childhood had fewer behavior problems and higher intellectual abilities as they grew older, even among children of lower socioeconomic status.

"Regardless of whether fathers lived with their children, their ability to set appropriate limits and structure their children's behaviour positively influenced problem-solving and decreased emotional problems, such as sadness, social withdrawal and anxiety," first author Erin Pougnet, a PhD candidate in the Department of Psychology at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, noted in a statement.

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Too many mums exclude dad from bringing up kids (UK)

I’ve always been keen on dads, even when there were no stats around to prove just how crucial they are to the healthy all-round development of a child. And this is particularly true with boys.

I have even gone as far as criticising absent or negligent dads for ignoring the needs of their children.

But now it would seem that it’s not errant dads who are the critical factor, it’s mums who don’t want dads around.

There is a new generation of women who choose to be a single mum and exclude dad from bringing up their child.

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Community Rites of Passage – Becoming Men Program (Tas)

It takes an extended community...to raise teenagers.  There are regular camps for boys 13-15 years. This is a structured programme with a separation from mother, family and friends; a challenge that each boy is given; and a celebratory return to family and friends. It is a critical part of a young person’s life and helps them develop as individuals. The father or a mentor attends the camp with the boy, and the mother attends the departure and return ceremonies on Bruny Island. This — and much more —is all explained in the information session.  Mothers play a critical role at the start and finish of the 4 days. Boys develop a stronger relationship with their father, an increased respect for women, are more motivated to set goals and finish school, and generally demonstrate improved communication and social skills.

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'Educated Boys Have More Options' (Jamaica)

Anthropologist Dr Herbert Gayle visited Ardenne High School in St Andrew on Wednesday to enforce that young men who are educated have more options than those who are not. Gayle lectures in the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona. He said he had three messages - one for the students, one for teachers and one for parents. "Keep yourselves in school, struggle, whatever it takes, make sure you are in school so you have maximum advantage," Gayle reminded the boys before he left. To the teachers, he said: "Teachers in my hearing, do not ever, ever, pursue a policy where you have one standard for girls and one for boys. Your job is to reshape the society, have one standard and let the boys reach up to it because they are bright!" And to the parents: "In order for boys to do well, they need one and a half times more food than girls." The crowd, made up of hundreds of Ardenne boys, exploded in cheers at that remark.

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The men from Uncle making a difference in boys' lives

A mentoring project for boys with absent fathers is struggling to stay afloat, writes Saffron Howden. When Luke Chamberlain's father died suddenly of a heart attack while surfing near Byron Bay two years ago, the nine-year-old was left with his twin sisters and a loving mother. It wasn't enough. He needed a male guide: someone to take him hiking, camping and surfing; someone to talk about cars, movies, sport and girls.

An uncle was the obvious choice - and Uncle, a unique community group that for nearly 15 years has helped hundreds of boys with absent or fickle fathers find adult male mentors, provided just that. "There's a lot of boys growing up without father figures around; some of them are slack, some of them have left, some have gone off with other women," Uncle's chief executive, Mark Gasson, said. "[Uncle is] never a replacement for a dad, but it's someone in their life that they can call and say, 'I'm having this crisis."