Father's Day

So what does Father’s Day really mean? To me it has always been love of family, pure and simple. I never once thought that I would not be a father to my young son when he was born two years into our marriage. But that is the perspective of a 28 year old married man.

The fact of the matter is that last year one in four children of all races was born to un-wed single parents. The percentage for unwed Hispanic and black mothers is much higher. Those figures are on the rise. A disproportionate percentage of teenage parents make this trend even more disturbing.

A young man 16 or 17 is not prepared economically, educationally or in maturity to support a child the way children should be supported by loving parents. In fact it’s a fair guess that most aren’t even interested in taking on the job. Being a parent is a low priority and that’s perfectly understandable; they are still children themselves!

We have to do a better job in selling abstinence to our young people, and if that is not possible to be better at educating teens about birth control methods. When a child is born to children it overburdens family support systems and ultimately working people end up being stuck with the bill.

But it’s just not about dollars and cents. It’s about providing the child with a nurturing environment. Children having children very often pass them off to parents and grandparents to raise, so that they can return to being teenagers themselves. But it’s too late then, and it’s unfair to everyone else, most of all the infant.