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This report explains the following nine important facts about American families and work which together illustrate the changes that are needed to ensure long-term economic growth, maintain economic competitiveness, improve the well-being of Americans, and make full use of all of America's talents: mothers are increasingly the household breadwinners; fathers are increasingly family caregivers; women make up nearly half of the labor force; women are increasingly among the most skilled workers, attaining the majority of college degrees, and deepening their work experiences; most children live in…
The father's role in child development and in the etiology of child maltreatment is examined in the context of families with absent fathers. Child maltreatment is defined, including subtle forms of emotional abuse and neglect, with an emphasis on the importance of the father's function in the family, which is generally ignored in the child abuse literature. The causes and consequences of paternal neglect or absence are contrasted with those of effective fathering. Not only do fathers have an influence--positive or negative--on how their children grow up, but they can affect the mother's…
The author of this chapter describes the current concerns about fatherlessness and family values as manifestations of dada-ism, an art form characterized by nonsense, travesty, and incongruity. She asserts that the proliferation of fatherhood organizations, literature, and political statements has promoted an alarmist message regarding the dangers of father absence and influenced the American public to believe that fatherlessness is the most important social problem in the nation. The focus on the role of fathers has replaced the political discourse on maternal neglect, which blamed feminism…
The fatherhood movement endorsed by activists such as David Blankenhorn proposes that men be enticed back into the family by policies that ensure their authority over their wife and children. However, this strategy focuses on the male's role as father rather than parent and is contrary to the feminist vision of equality in marriage. Feminist principles assert that masculinity and male domination are linked to violence and that the goal of returning to the family structure of 1950s America is undesirable. This chapter presents two case studies to illustrate the relationship between economic…
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In 2008, both mothers and fathers exited the workforce for various reasons, including caring for a minor child. Estimates from Current Population Survey (CPS) data spanning 1968-2009 indicate the percentage of homes with a stay-at-home father in which the wife earned 100% of the income increased from 1.2% to 3.4% (the percentage of homes with a stay-at-home mother decreased from 47.7% to 25.7%) (Kramer and McColloch, 2010). The increased trend of fathers leaving the workforce to take care of a child is associated with financial reasons (Doucet, 2004), parenting values, career advancement of…
