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While we're on the subject, here are a few more

Father Figures

• The media image of Dad-in-the-Den-Knows-Best is largely a thing of the past, according to a new study by the National Fatherhood Initiative. In an art-imiates-life-imitates-art sort of way, this is bad, says chair Don Eberly: "At a time when children badly need fathers ... the networks portray them as missing, comfused, aloof, or completely uninformed."
• In real life, however -- and in intact, two-parent families -- fathers have more than doubled their share of child care over the past 20 years. In the late 70s, dads spent about two-thirds less time as moms looking after kids. Now, according to sociologist W. Jean Yeung at University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, they're up to 65% as much on weekdays and 87% as much on weekends.
• Same survey: moms spend more kid-time reading, helping with homework, and doing household chores; fathers spend more time at the computer, playing sports, building things, and teaching their daughters to drive a stickshift illegally on a back road at age 15, which Breakup Mom only recently found out about. Other study findings show that the children who get maximum dad time are least likely to have behavior problems, which may explain why BG was such a damn good kid.
• Of course, 42% of American kids are not living with two married biological parents -- up from 19% in 1960. "It's a best of times, worst of times, kind of thing," says Wade Horn, NFI president. "Kids in these two parent homes have more involved fathers than past generations, but a growing number of children are deprived of a father."
• In the interest of equal time, I will add that the Ladies Against Women used all these numbers to note that "dads do matter -- despite what the liberals say," and to explain why all Alternative types of families are evil destructors of America's moral fiber, ozone layer, etc.

So hoo, boy, am I SO not saying that single- or two- or triple-mom families are substandard CFC-emitting units. But I will say that if you don't think fatherhood -- present or absent -- is a Breakup Girl topic (as in: the family ties that bind ... you into certain non-family relationship patterns), then you've got the mother of all another thinks coming. (Same goes for if you think that liberals think that dads don't count. 'Cause wait, weren't we the ones trying to get them to spend more time with kids? Oh, for God's sake. See, you can't reason with a Concerned Woman.) And I am saying that if you would like a Dad Guy in your (or your kids') life -- or would like to be [a better] one your bad self -- check out all the resources and links here (or here). That, or, if you ask nicely, maybe Breakup Dad will teach you to drive stick.

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