Do you hear the crying of a fatherless nation

Psa 22:2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not answer; and in the night, and am not silent.

God hears the crying going on in homes across this nation of youth who do not know an earthly father, or God as a father.

Will we repent, and father them? Will we ask them to forgive us? Will we gather the remnant of their generation to cry out to God with us before judgment comes to our nation? If we do not care then the tears will be Gods, as he judges a fatherless nation…

Psa 34:15 The eyes of Jehovah are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry

Psa 145:19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry, and will save them.

The Extent of Fatherlessness in U.S.

The data below record the prevalence of physical fatherlessness, which affects more than 25,000,000 children. Emotional fatherlessness--when dad is in the home, but not emotionally engaged with his child's life--affects millions more.

b. --Source: National Center for Fathering, Fathering in America Poll, January, 1999.

b. --Source: David Poponoe, American Family Decline, 1960-1990: A Review and Appraisal Journal of Marriage and Family 55 (August 1993).

--Source: Saluter, Arlen F. Marital Status and Living Arrangements: March 1994., US Bureau of the Census, Current Population Report. p28-484. Washington, DC: GPO, 1996. US Bureau of the Census. Statistical Abstract of the United States 1997, Washington, DC: GPO, 199

--Source: Popenoe, David. Life Without Father.,New York: Simon and Schuster, 1996, 23.

6.
--Source: US Congress Committee on Ways and Means, The Green Book, (1996);
US Bureau of the Census. Statistical Abstract of the United States 1997, (1997).

· 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes.

[U. S. D.H.H.S. Bureau of the Census]

90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes.
85% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes.

[Center for Disease Control]

80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from fatherless homes.

[Criminal Justice and Behavior, Vol. 14 p. 403-26]

71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes.

[National Principals Association Report on the State of High Schools]

70% of juveniles in state operated institutions come from fatherless homes

[U.S. Dept. of Justice, Special Report, Sept., 1988]

85% of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a fatherless home.

[Fulton County Georgia Jail Populations and Texas Dept. of Corrections, 1992]

Nearly 2 of every 5 children in America do not live with their fathers.

[US News and World Report, February 27, 1995, p.39]

There are:

11,268,000 total custodial mothers
2,907,000 total custodial fathers

[Current Populations Reports, US Bureau of the Census, Series P-20, No. 458, 1991]

What does this mean? Children from fatherless homes are:

· 4.6 times more likely to commit suicide,

6.6 times to become teenaged mothers (if they are girls, of course),
24.3 times more likely to run away,
15.3 times more likely to have behavioral disorders,
6.3 times more likely to be in a state-operated institutions,
10.8 times more likely to commit rape,
6.6 times more likely to drop out of school,
15.3 times more likely to end up in prison while a teenager.

(The calculation of the relative risks shown in the preceding list is based on 27% of children being in the care of single mothers.)

and — compared to children who are in the care of two biological, married parents — children who are in the care of single mothers are:

33 times more likely to be seriously abused (so that they will require medical attention), and

· 73 times more likely to be killed.

["Marriage: The Safest Place for Women and Children", by Patrick F. Fagan and Kirk A. Johnson, Ph.D. Backgrounder #1535.]

The following is from an article in the (Canadian) Report Newsmagazine, Daddy's girl matures later — Stepfathers are shown to produce 'precocious puberty' in young females, by Candis McLean, 2001 04 16, p. 46

ONE in six girls in Britain now enters puberty by eight years of age, according to recent research. This compares with one in 100 a generation ago. "Girls are now having sex before their great-great-grandmothers had their first period. Half of all girls in Britain will have entered puberty by the age of 10," announced Professor Jane Golding, director of the study at Bristol University's Institute of Child Health last June after tracking the development of 14,000 children from birth. In North America, one in seven Caucasian girls and half of African-American girls enter puberty (develop breasts or pubic hair) by the age of eight. The parade of suggested triggers has included obesity, pollution and food additives (see this magazine, Nov. 16, 1998). New research, however, suggests a radical new theory--that the father-daughter relationship is also a very important factor in when girls mature.

One of the leaders in this research, American Bruce Ellis, is a psychology professor at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. ...

According to Prof. Ellis' research,

"The clearest finding to emerge from this research was that it was the absence of warm, positive family relationships, rather than the presence of negative, coercive family relationships, that forecast earlier pubertal development in girls." But, while warm relations with both parents predicted later puberty, the more relevant was "father-daughter affectionate-positivity"; in fact, the more time spent by the father in childcare when the daughters were four to five years old, the less pubertal development by Grade 7. ...

Prof. Ellis does not think that pheremone exposure within the home is the only factor at work. He continues, "It is also likely that girls who have high-investing fathers in the home tend to begin sex and dating at a later age and thus have less pheromonal exposure to male dating partners in early adolescence." He concludes his article (to be published in a book entitled Just living together: Implications of cohabitation for children, families, and social policy) with the statement that the inherent instability of cohabiting unions--an average duration of about two years--means any children will be three times as likely to live with a biologically unrelated parent which could result in earlier onset of puberty. In girls, this is associated with negative health and psychosocial outcomes: greater risk of breast cancer in later life, unhealthy weight gain, higher rates of teenage pregnancy, low birthweight babies, emotional problems such as depression and anxiety, and problem behaviours such as alcohol consumption and sexual promiscuity. [My emphasis —WHS]

The Report article recommends to parents that to be successful in,

Preserving childhood

· Stay married

· Keep stress levels down; do not overbook children's activities

· Prevent obesity

· Provide a high-fibre diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables

· Cut out fast food

· Keep your daughter active; get her interested in a sport or out playing with other kids

· Throw out the TV

· Send early-developing girls to same-sex or age-segregated schools to reduce exposure to older boys

The following is from the newsletter Common Sense & Domestic Violence, 1997 12 24

Children and Single Moms

Whether it is caused by violence or not, children living with single moms don't do well in our society. It used to be the exception. Now it is becoming the rule and progressively worse. Is that not child abuse too?

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT CHILDREN FROM SINGLE-MOTHER FAMILIES

	Single-Mother Family		Two Parent Family		Relative Odds¹
Problem	%	(n)²	%	(n)²
Hyperactivity	15.6	(69,480)	9.6	(221,573)	1.74
Conduct disorder	17.2	(73,659)	8.1	(180,786)	2.36
Emotional disorder	15.0	(67,205)	7.5	(173,714)	2.18
One or more behaviour problems	31.7	(137,460)	18.7	(418,894)	2.02
Repeated a grade ³	11.2	(36,288)	4.7	(78,026)	2.56
Current school problems ³	5.8	(18,862)	2.7	(46,120)	2.22
Social impairment	6.1	(25,105)	2.5	(51,344)	2.53
One or more total problems ³	40.6	(128,895)	23.6	(381,715)	2.21

1. Children from single-mother families are 2.21 times (221%) as likely to have one or more total problems than those from two-parent families, twice as likely to have an emotional disorder, etc. (The probability of this being due to chance is smaller than 1 in 1,000)

2. Weighted projections to reflect national population of children.

3. Data for items so annotated apply for 6- to 11-year-olds only. All other data in the table apply to 4- to 11-year olds.

These posts are from a blog at the following web site. Although not all families that are single parent have these type of outcomes, the statistics show that most do.

I consider myself being pretty much a fatherless daughter. I have been through two divorces with parents and find that it is very difficult for a child or adult to deal with in many ways. We need a way to reach out and help teens understand that marriage isn't easy and it takes both people working as one. I don't fall under any of the statistics posted, but I am one of the lucky ones.

You don't seem to recognize the mothers that are left holding the bag for those fathers. I lost my husband and my kids their father to my now ex's buddies... He wanted to party, party, party. So now you throw out all these statistics without solutions. My children have no father, but my ex's buddies have a partying friend. Go figureStatistics Say Fatherless Daughters Are:

hey, found your blog randomly.
anyways, i consider myself a fatherless daughter too, not that i i've been through any divorces or anything, but my father is just never around. you see, he's on the other side of the planet working... and yeah.

well its actually not that bad for me. why? cause im so glad that im a christian =) i read this somewhere and it said that the kids that has weak familiies will probably put more time and effort in their own family because they dont want the same thing to happen..so i guess it just depends on the kid itself.

First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your lack of perspective in regard to not only fatherless daughters but fatherless children in general. Second, on your use, or lack there of, of grace and love. Third, have you ever done any research whatsoever of the effects of fathers not being in the home. I'm not talking about numbers and statistics. I'm talking about real life situations. Have you ever sat down and talked to someone and really had a heartfelt, get-to-each-other session with someone from a fatherless home? Actually invested something into that relationship besides your own opinions and bitterness? It doesn't sound like it to me.

My best friend is from a fatherless home. His father left when he was 3 years old. While he has his days (as we all do because we're human) he sits next to me today in our dorm room studying ministry and planning on being a youth minister. He has sold out to God and while he has been through tough times, God has shown him grace and imparted love to him in a way that obviously you have not been blest with.

Sorry for the harshness of the post, but I feel very strongly about people who make rash over-generalizations about topics that they have no place commenting on. Tolerance can only go so far, but love covers a multitude of sins.

You are not sorry for the harshness or you wouldn't have used it and after leaving a comment like that you have no place talking about grace and love. Regardless of how you feel, you make rash-assumptions and frankly, I don't know where you are coming from with this. You congratulate me on my lack of perspective and spatter some mindless idea about how I have no relationships with fatherless children, unfortunately for you those assumptions are absurd. I am a youth minister; I have relationships and conversations with fatherless teenagers and children on a weekly basis. Many have a relationship with Christ and are devoted to Him, many others are in a constant state of rebellion. I have a nephew who is also a fatherless child and I know the struggles that he goes through. I come from a divorced home myself. My dad has been married three times and my mom has been married three times, and pretty much everyone else in my entire family has been divorced at least once except for my grandparents. I am pretty sure I have enough experience in this area to qualify talking about it. You are quick to pass judgment and make faulty accusations about things and people you have no knowledge of.

I am really lost on your idea of grace and love... This is a post about the growing effects of broken family relationships. Everyone knows that not all broken families go through the same problems and everyone knows that not all daughters without a father will go through the things listed here. That is obvious and didn't need to be stated. But, just because some don't deal with these issues, the truth is there is an even larger number who have major problems. It's not their fault, it is the parents. This post is about the responsibility of parents and the effect they have on their children. Certainly these parents need to be shown grace and love, but the future of the family depends on the future parents, thus this subject should very well be discussed. I honestly don't think you are looking for discussion. Seems as though you were just looking for someone to tear down... shameful.

your right, and those kids that have their fathers walk out on them and leave their mother alone should simply be taken away and placed in a good religous,conservative family. RIGHT?

Well, I never thought about it, but now that you mention it that is a good idea. Although Conservative, religous is too broad. Christian family, thats what they need. Good idea Greg.

I'm from a fatherless family. My father left in a way when I was 8, then my parents got divorced when I was 9, and things were fine with visitation but when I was 13 he moved to another state. Where I haven't had contact with him for 2yrs +.

I came across this website while doing research for my sophomore english research paper of the year. I have quite a bit of knowledge of this topic since I have the experience and this is about my 25th website I have come across. The effects that I have read seem to be true about most fatherless teens. I'm not one of those teens because I went to catholic school and learned about a lot of those type of effects and know better not to drop out of school as well as not do drugs and all. A lot of my friends who of fatherless families have at least one of the effects I have read today, and that's very sad.

icame from a broken family. I'm a fatherless daughter. And as an experience, it's really hard living without my dad... Therewere tyms i want to share something to him but o know it won't be easy. And iknow that some of you too feel what am i saying. And this questions always comes to my mind... WHY IT SHOULD HAPPEN TO CHILD LIKE ME... IAIN'T DO NOTHING WRONG AND ALL I WANT IS TO BE HAPPY WITH MY FAMILY.... We just hope thatsomeday our parents may think how did they really affect us... parents separation might bring children to wrong directions. because it can affect us in many terms...and in different ways. physically, spiritually, emotionally and socially

I am an 18 year old girl who was adopted at age 2 by a single woman. I have never had a father or any type of male role model. I happen to be the POSTER RESEARCH individual for this kind of topic. I am not pregnant, or ever have been, have never drunk alcohol, or taken drugs. However, I am experiancing "fatherless woman syndrome". I was depressed during middleschool and highschool. I have turned to lesbian relationships eventhough I really don't have any sexual desire for women. I have been very confused and frightened of men, especially those with deep voices and a very masculine apperance; most of my male friends are feminine or homosexual. I have a very strong desire to have children at a very young age, but fear of men has kept me from having a sexual relationship with a male. If I had grown up in a less protected enviroment perhaps I would have fallen into one of these statistics. I do not believe that the women discounting these statistics have had the same type of upbringing that I have. I'm speaking of one WITHOUT ANY MALE ROLE MODELS, PERIOD. If they had grown up in this environment as well, they would probably have many of the "fatherless woman syndrom" synptoms that I have. Only recently, after entering college, have I began to understand that much of my confusion about life has steamed from never having contact with men. It is very important that if a girl does not have a father that she at least has a male that she can confide in and use as a father figure. My mother and grandmother raised me and did that best that they could, but the fact remains that males are an important influence on a girl's development. Please understand that no one is trying to say anything negative about a mother's ability to raise her daughter without a husband. Many of these cases are out of the individual's power. However, I now have to work very hard with myself to make sure that I can have a nuturing and loving relationship with men so that one day I can have a happy marriage and be comfortable with myself. These statistics are important,true, and should be taken into account.

I am a single mom, me and my mother takes care of my son. My fear is that my son doesn't have a father figure...what if he turns gay? (no offense to those who are gay) Or what if he grows up and become bitter with his father? Do you know of any resources regarding raising a child so he will be able to accept the fact that his father left us, without affecting his personality? Thanks

I believe having no father has made me feel insecure about masculine parts of my identity. I am female, but I definitely have masculinity issues. When I was a little girl, I felt I was a boy. I would say this till I was ten. I knew I was a girl, but felt like a boy. I would play on all boys soccer teams till I was 13. When I was 10, I wanted to be a bodybuilder, and Hulk Hogan was a role model. I played sports and overachieved to a very high level. I never stopped until I was weight training, and squatted way too much weight, 175 lbs as a 15 year old girl. I got a bulging disc, and stopped athletics completely. My depression started from this. My ego is caught up in my masculinity, and because I had no father or any male role models, I had to develop this in myself. The only way I could do this was through sports.

I feel like I can never be big enough or have enough muscle. I was considering taking steroids. I feel like I'm not man enough if you can understand this. And no, I'm not interested in women. I only date hypermasculine men who have insanely huge muscles. Still, I feel empty, and I always am looking for this perfect man that has perfect muscles, but I never find him. I can never make myself perfectly muscular either. I'm always eating protein, and trying to stay big. It's difficult.

Not having a male role model has kept me from developing fully emotionally and mentally. And to people who judge others for being mad about not having a dad, they have no right. People are allowed to feel pain, and be angry, and hate for this. It's only human. You can pray to God, and everything, but you don't have to forget what the absence of these people does. You can forgive if you feel like it, but it's no one else's business whether you do or don't. You feel what you feel and deal how you deal.

My father disappeared from my life when I was seven. He never supported us in any way. i never felt loved by him. But i believe that my mother brought us up properly. and i also beleived that i haev learnt a lot through our struggling life experiences. this made me an independent women. but ever since i was 16, i have always had a boyfriend. all long term relationships and i have never really been insecure abt these relationships but these people that i let into my lives have hurt me, cheated me. and i just dont know what to do now and ive been told that whats happening now maybe a result of my fathers absence and my need to always have someone there..

I'v pretty much been a fatherless child see my father has been in and out of jail science I was born then he said that I wasn't his then once I turned 17 then he decided he wanted to be a part of my life saying that he was going 2 take me from my mother butt i never beleived it. Now that I'm older I don't want notthing 2 do with him. Also now that I have a daughter of my own the same has happend to her but I thank God that her and I both have a step father that loves us as their very own(child

Year	1960	1970	1980	1990	1995
%	8.0	10.8	18.0	21.6	23.4

Year	1960	1970	1980	1990	1995
% White	6.1	7.8	13.5	16.2	18.3
% Black	19.1	29.5	43.9	51.2	58.3