Importance of Parental Involvement
When Both Parents Are Actively Involved:
A father-child interaction has been shown to promote a child’s physical
well-being, perceptual abilities, and competency for relatedness with
others, even at a young age. (Source: Krampe, E. M. and P.D.
Fairweather. "Father Presence and Family Formation: A theoretical
Reformation." Journal of Family Issues 14.4 (December 1993): 572-591).
When both parents are involved in the child’s education e.g., attending
school meetings, parent-teacher conferences, volunteering at school,
class events, there is a higher likelihood that the child will receive
high grades and enjoy school and reduce the likelihood that a grade will
be repeated. (Source: Nord, C.W., Brimhall, D. & West, J. Fathers
Involvement in Schools, 1997, U.S. Department of Education in "What Do
Fathers Contribute to Children's Well Being" Child Trends Research
Brief).
Both parents supporting the child financially reduce risk factors
associated with poverty. Poverty levels are reduced when both parents
are present: single parent families have a poverty rate of 46% while two
parent families have a rate of approximately 10%. (Source: Map and
Track: State Initiatives to Encourage Responsible Fatherhood, 1999
Edition, National Center for Children in Poverty).
Fatherless or Single Parent Homes:
Fatherless children are twice as likely to drop out of school. 71% of
all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes. (Sources:
US Dept. of Health and Human Services. National Center for Health
Statistics. Survey on Child Health. Washington, DC, 1993.
Institute for Responsible Fatherhood and Family Revitalization, quoting
from a recent study by Men Against Domestic Violence).
Fatherless children are at a dramatically greater risk of drug and
alcohol abuse. 75% of all adolescents in chemical abuse centers come
from fatherless homes. (Source: US Dept. of Health and Human
Services. National Center for Health Statistics. Survey on Child
Health. Washington, DC, 1993).
Children in single-parent families are more likely to get pregnant as
teenagers than their peers who grow up with two parents. (Source: US
Dept. of Health and Human Services, National Center for Health
Statistics. "National Health Interview Survey." Hyattsville, MD,
1988).
Three out of four teenage suicides (75%) occur in households where a
parent has been absent. 90% of all homeless and runaway children are
from fatherless homes. (Sources: Elshtain, Jean Bethke, "Family
Matters: The Plight of America’s Children." The Christian
Century, July 1993. Institute for Responsible Fatherhood and Family
Revitalization, quoting from a recent study by Men Against Domestic
Violence).
Also see Joint Physical Care Research.