Father's Day is Every Day

There comes a time in a man's life when he may have to face the responsibility of being a father. For many males being a father is considered an extremely tough responsibility. It is tough because it requires you to be a caregiver, disciplinarian, teacher, provider, and role model. Not to mention, it is a duty that last a lifetime.

According to former NBA player Etan Thomas, the impact of fatherhood affected him so much that he wrote a book about it. In his book, Fatherhood: Rising to the Ultimate Challenge he suggests a father is obligated to think about his children first and is responsible for placing them in positions that will allow them to flourish. Unfortunately, too often, Black children do not have a male figure to help them progress.

Generalyl speaking, Black children do not have a male figure to help them progress due to fear, selfishness, and finances. For example, a lot of dads leave their children because they fear fatherhood. They run away from their children because they don't want to take responsibility for their actions. Other dads leave because they are fearful of losing their freedom or having to adjust to a different lifestyle. The rest of the absentee dads leave their children because they are unhappy with their financial status. They leave because the financial pressure of having to take care of a child or children makes them evaluate how successful they are towards reaching their full financial potential. As a result, many Black fathers find that they do not have the capital they deem necessary to support their children so they runaway. In other words, Black fathers leave because they realize “to be a poor man is hard, but to be a poor race in a land of dollars is the very bottom of hardship.” Consequently, to avoid such hardship Black fathers must: 1) execute planned parenting; 2) become lifelong learners; and 3) establish social capital.

Nevertheless, if Black males want to become great fathers all they need to do is be there for their children. Black fathers must realize that actively loving their children is all that is required to help them uncover their talents. They must understand that the real cost of fatherhood is only time. Therefore, Black fathers must spend a great portion of time with their children because they are our legacy. In short, spending time and showing love to a child is extremely important because a dad’s love is one of the world’s most powerful forces to transform a child into a successful adult.