A Call for Dads to Step Up

As Father’s Day approaches, it’s important to recognize that alarming numbers of America’s youth don’t know their fathers, leaving them feeling like “throwaway people,” writes Juan Williams in the Wall Street Journal. The lack of a dad “to push them, discipline them,” can mean “they give up trying to succeed,” says an author who writes for teens.

“If you are concerned about reducing child poverty,” says an expert, “you have to focus on missing fathers.” Statistics show that 28% of white children, 50% of Hispanic children and a “chilling” 71% of black children are born to single mothers, Williams notes. The absence of a father increases the risk of a child becoming involved with drugs and even of being incarcerated. (More parenting stories.)