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There are innumerable factors that play into the why: cultural elements, abysmal poverty levels, parental alienation, broken systems – absolutely all of which we intend to cover here at The Dadvocate. There is one small and less common reason, however, that seems to define all fathers: They don't want to be involved.
In a 2008 Father’s Day speech, former President Barack Obama said, “What makes you a man is not the ability to have a child – it’s the courage to raise one.”
Obama was a major advocate for fathers being in the home, stating that they were “a critical foundation” for healthy families. Like him or not, he got it right when it comes to fatherhood.
And the fact of the matter is, most men aspire to be fathers.
In a study performed by the Associated Press, 8 in 10 men aspired to be fathers.
Deadbeat Dads Make Up Only Around 5% Of All Fathers
Especially in the court room, where presumed shared custody is only recognized by 11 out of 50 states in the US.
We currently live in a time where two parents enter the family law system – but only one leaves a parent, and the other a visitor.
By and large, the non-custodial parent is markedly the father.
The Children Speak
One of the most demonstrative outcomes of The Dadvocate channel has been the very vocal outcry of the youth and former youth on this topic.
Now more than ever, children of split family homes have opportunities through social media to discuss and share their experiences after the divorce or separation of their parents:
And they overwhelmingly benefit from shared parenting.
Shared Custody Proves Beneficial: Key Insights from 40 Studies
The Department of Education released a compilation of 40 studies on the outcomes of children raised under shared physical custody that concluded the approach is demonstrably more beneficial for children than being raised predominantly by only one parent.
Specifically, children saw majoratively the most benefit from dividing their time halfway between both parents.
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Advocating for Fairness and Support in Shared Parenting
We are ultimately committed to shining a light on better methods of helping keep fathers in the picture.
Men have very few resources for support after divorce, financially and mentally. These resources are made even more slim when men make up the dominant number of financial orders, and face steep to cruel consequences if they cannot comply with those rigorous financial demands under family court law, such as license suspension and jail time just to start.
Good men who desire to be great fathers deserve to be advocated for and given places and platforms that support them.
We hope to be a resource for advocates of shared parenting, a healthy hub for healthy relationship advice, and a kickass place to relax and laugh because damn do we all need it.
Hope to see you around.
