Father and Their Involvement in Girls Lives

          What is the role of a father in the home? Well, in my religion father’s are essential to the makeup of family, but the entire world doesn’t see it that way. Let’s see what the negative effects are in girls who don’t have a father in the home. I thought this topic would be interesting because I am a female, and although I have a great father who has been in the home, I am curious to see the differences.

          Young girls who lack a father figure in the home are more likely to experience a harder time learning – they experience diminished cognitive development. Cognitive development is what affects how kids see and interpret the information they are given. This makes it hard for them to learn and grow in school. Research has shown that this happens because while a child may have both parents, those with only a mother lack both qualities of having a mother and father. It is said that it’s because the mother has to “… act as both breadwinner and homemaker.” Or, in other words, the mother has to do what the father would usually do as well as her own duties. This causes the child to be deprived of parts of what they would get from their mother as well as their father.

          In addition to that, girls tend to lack skills in the mathematical area. This is because mathematics tends to be looked at as a “masculine subject.” Because of this, it is thought that girls without a father figure, or male figure in the home will express less interest in these subjects. Research shows us that because some girls do not have that male presence, that fatherly figure, to push them to succeed in the mathematical area, they don’t like it and are exceedingly less likely to pursue anything math or science related. This is not because girls cannot do math or aren’t smart enough to do math. This is because girls tend to solve problems in a different, more creative way, while boys tend to solve them more visually. This problem was more prominent in the past, but through the development of more STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) careers, the push for girls to succeed and excel in these subjects has increased greatly. In fact, girls are often encouraged to explore these fields with the lack of women in them today. It is easier for girls, however, to have their father encouraging them, so it will be less likely without that role in a girl’s life.

          Girls without fathers seem to lack the feeling of security in their lives. In this article I read (I have it cited at the end of this post) it says, “This paternal protection enables females to thrive in relative safety, enhancing their chances of growing into healthy adulthood.” Without that stability, girls can become more… out of hand, if you will. They are more likely to take risks and not think about consequences.

          Father stability is also very important in the life of a girl. A lot of the development and strengths of a women come from her father. The less a father is involved in his daughter’s life, the more vulnerable she is to the world and its influence. For example, girls are;

53% more likely to marry as teenagers

111% more likely to have kids as teenagers

164% more likely to be a single parent

92% more likely to marry if they do get married

          So, what good comes from having a father in the home? Well, basically the opposite of everything listed above. Girls have the security and stability in their home. They are able to receive the benefits of having both a mom and a dad. They have more opportunity to grow in science and math classes, and they may find they are good at it after giving it a chance. Why, they may even like it! I’ll tell you that I enjoy solving math and science problems after I was told by my dad it is an important skill to have

.

          I have been blessed in my life to have an amazing dad. He pushed me to do well in my math classes and my science classes. Ever since elementary school, I was told that I couldn’t do my addition, subtraction and especially my multiplication in a calculator. This seemed like such a small thing that didn’t matter, but I can clearly see the benefits from this. It has benefited me at work to be able to do simple division without needing my phone like many of my coworkers. He and my mom also worked well together to teach not only me, but my older siblings as well, to what we should and shouldn’t do when it comes to doing what is right and what is wrong. I also had to work hard around my house an even though I hated it, I see the difference in my life to know how to work for something, and in the lives of those who were given everything, and I will be forever grateful for those experiences.  

THE EFFECTS ABSENT FATHERS HAVE ON FEMALE DEVELOPMENT AND COLLEGE ATTENDANCE. By: Krohn, Franklin B., Bogan, Zoe, College Student Journal, 01463934, Dec 2001, Vol. 25, Issue 4