A Message for Dads And Everyone on Father’s Day

A few years ago I spent some time at the White House to hear about the initiatives the President was rolling out in anticipation of Father’s Day. I left encouraged and excited.

It’s really great to see how much care is being taken to serve those who are growing up without fathers.

I remember when I first started talking about mentoring and fatherhood, how little discussion there was about the issue of fatherlessness. It was a dark subject that brought up thoughts of weakness.

Now, it seems, a positive spotlight is being shone on the power and importance of fathers.

Photo Credit: Tim Pierce, Creative Commons

If your dad is around, would you do me a favor?

Would you make a really big deal out of him this weekend?

Would you take him to a baseball game, shower him with corny (or perhaps thoughtful) gifts, and tell him how important he is to you?

It’ll mean the world.

I’m hoping, in the next decade, Father’s Day becomes a huge deal, a day of celebrating positive masculinity, a day of celebrating the amazing gift that strong men bring to families and communities.

We can start by making an enormous deal out of Father’s Day.

Fatherlessness is an issue that impacts all of us—whether we know it or not.

The absence of positive male role models in a child’s life has an impact on teen dropout rates, drug use, unwanted pregnancy and and several choices kids make that lead to social problems.

In my work with the Presidential Task Force on Fatherhood and Healthy Families, we’ve discovered we don’t only have a fatherhood crisis in America, we have a masculinity crisis.

We’ve simply forgotten how to be men.

We’ve forgotten how much power we have to shape the lives of our own children.

If you’re a dad sticking it out with your family and your kids, THANKS.

And if you’re a father struggling through the tension to stay in your children’s lives after a separation, thanks for facing the tension because you love your kids.

It will mean the world to them in the long run.

Dad’s, in my opinion, you are the most powerful force in the lives of your children. Thank you for not being passive. Thank you for understanding and taking responsibility for your power.

Thank you for turning your power into love and commitment.

If you’d like to help with the crisis of Fatherlessness, one way you can do that is by buying your dad a more meaningful gift than a tie this Father’s Day. A program I started years ago, now run by John Sowers, works to pair fatherless kids with adult mentors and this is a perfect time of year to make a donation.

If you have a father who has been around and had a positive influence on your life, make one in his honor.

Happy Fathers Day!

A Message for Dads And Everyone on Father’s Day is a post from: Storyline Blog