The American family is changing. Divorce, single parents, and stepfamilies are redefi ning the ways we live together and raise our children. Many "experts" feel these seemingly inevitable changes should be celebrated; they claim that the "new" families, which often lack a strong father, are actually healthier than traditional two-parent families—or, at the very least, do children no harm. But as David Popenoe shows in Families Without Fathers this optimistic view is severely misguided. Examining evidence from social and behavioral science, history, and evolutionary biology, Popenoe shows why fathers today are deserting their families in record numbers. The disintegration of the child-centered, two parent family—especially in the inner cities, where as many as two in three children are growing up without their fathers—and the weakening commitment of fathers to their children that more and more follows divorce, are central causes of many of our worst individual and social problems. Juvenile delinquency, drug and alcohol abuse, teenage pregnancy, welfare dependency, and child poverty can be directly traced to fathers' lack of involvement in their children's lives. Our situation will only get worse, Popenoe warns, unless men are willing to renew their commitment to their marriages and to their children. Yet he is not just an alarmist. He suggests concrete policies, and new ways of thinking and acting that will help all fathers improve their marriages and family lives, and tells us what we as individuals and as a society can do to support and strengthen the most important thing a man can do.

A breakthrough guide for fathers, mothers, and businesses on managing one of the major stresses on both families and organizations. Based on extensive research conducted by Levine's DaddyStress Seminar for corporations, this book shows how getting it right at home actually contributes to productivity on the job, and how making the workplace "father friendly" will yield enormous benefits to working mothers.

"In Do Fathers Matter? the award-winning journalist and father of five Paul Raeburn overturns the many myths and stereotypes of fatherhood as he examines the latest scientific findings on the parent we've often overlooked. Drawing on research from neuroscientists, animal behaviorists, geneticists, and developmental psychologists, among others, Raeburn takes us through the various stages of fatherhood, revealing the profound physiological connections between children and fathers, from conception through adolescence and into adulthood--and the importance of the relationship between mothers and fathers. In the process, he challenges the legacy of Freud and mainstream views of parental attachment, and also explains how we can become better parents ourselves."--www.Amazon.com.

Parenting isn't rocket science, it's just brain surgery. And Dr. Joshua Straub has good news for you: You can do it! You don’t need to do all the “right” things as a parent. Both science and the Bible show us that the most important thing we can provide for our kids is a place of emotional safety. In other words, the posture from which we parent matters infinitely more than the techniques of parenting. Emotional safety—more than any other factor—is scientifically linked to raising kids who live, love, and lead well. Learn how to use emotional safety as a foundation from which you parent—and make a cultural impact that could change the world! In Safe House, Dr. Straub draws from his extensive research and personal experience to help you: - Foster healthy identity and social development in children of any age - Win the war without getting overwhelmed in the daily battles - Discipline in a way that builds relationship - Understand how the culture is affecting your child and what you can do about it - Cultivate responsible, self-regulating behavior in your kids - Establish an unshakeable sense of faith, morality, and values in your home - Feel more confident and peaceful as a parent - Find a greater perspective on parenting than what you might see on a daily basis Also includes a Safe House Parenting Assessment.

There's no denying that a woman's relationship with her father is one of the most important in her life. And there's also no getting around how the quality of that relationship—good, bad, or otherwise—profoundly affects daughters in a multitude of ways. In Our Fathers, Ourselves, research psychologist, author and scholar Dr. Peggy Drexler examines the ways in which the father-daughter bond impacts women and offers helpful advice for creating a better, stronger, more rewarding relationship. Through her extensive research and interviews with women, Dr. Drexler paints an intimate, timely portrait of the modern father-daughter relationship. Women today are increasingly looking to their dads for a less-than-traditional bond, but one that still stands the test of time and provides support, respect, and guidance for the lives they lead today. Our Fathers, Ourselves is essential reading for any woman who has ever wondered how she could forge a closer connection with and gain a deeper understanding of her father.

This aim of this open access book is to launch an international, cross-disciplinary conversation on fatherhood engagement. By integrating perspective from three sectors -- Health, Social Policy, and Work in Organizations -- the book offers a novel perspective on the benefits of engaged fatherhood for men, for families, and for gender equality. The chapters are crafted to engaged broad audiences, including policy makers and organizational leaders, healthcare practitioners and fellow scholars, as well as families and their loved ones.

In Father, The Family Protector, Educator James Stenson explores how fathers exercise their powerful and particularly masculine contribution to family life. His research comes from more than twenty years of working with families from two highly successful independent secondary schools for boys that he helped establish, The Heights School in Washington D.C., and Northridge Preparatory School in Chicago. As headmaster, he made it his business to know hundreds of families intimately studying their family lives, watching their children grow into maturity, very often successfully, but sometimes not. Through countless conversations with fathers and mothers, he tried to account for the differences, looking for patterns of family life among those parents who triumphed with their children. What did these successful men and women have in common? What did they manage to do right? Most important: what could other parents learn from their experience? This wisdom of fatherhood is what this book is all about. It explains the main obstacles in today's society that undercut a father's teaching role, and tells men what they could do to overcome them. Then within this framework, James Stenson spells out how successful fathers deal with their children in the more crucial areas: family rules, discipline, schooling, sports, recreation, the media, and ongoing teamwork with one's wife. In short, this book provides the guidance that will help any father to carry out a serious responsibility - that of protector of his family. Listen to author James Stenson speak about "Successful Fathers".