The Fatherhood Connection

“I suddenly remember being very little and being embraced by my father.

I would try to put my arms around my father’s waist, hug him back. I could never reach the whole way around the equator of his body; he was that much larger than life. Then one day, I could do it.

I held him, instead of him holding me, and all I wanted at that moment was to have it back the other way.”

― Jodi Picoult, Vanishing Acts

Teen fathers have dreams, too… let’s support them.

Ellen Blalock creates stories in media of fathers and others. She created this video in support of teen fathers called : “The Father Project”.
Her role as a narrative artist is to create a vehicle of visual and oral communication to narrate the lives of people that need to be heard and listened to. She says her job is to listen, to record, to make available the voices and stories of what is missing.

The Fathers’ Project, Beyond Boundaries in Ghana, The Quilt Project, Know Me, the WHOLE Me and CAGE have all grown out of her need to help give voices to people and communities that need their stories told.

Source:  Click here.

11 Facts About Teen Dads

In the United States, about 750,000 women under the age of 20 become pregnant every year, meaning that about 750,000 men are also involved in teen pregnancies.

1. Eight out of 10 teen dads don’t marry the mother of their child.
2. Absent fathers pay less than $800 annually for child support.
3. Teen fathers are required to pay child support until the child is 18-years-old.
4. Only one in five mothers receives child support from the father.
5. Teen fathers earn 10 to 15 percent less annually than men who wait to have children.
6. Teen dads are less likely to finish high school than their peers.
7. Teen fathers are more likely to get involved with criminal behavior, including alcohol and drug abuse.
8. Children who don’t live with their fathers are five times more likely to be poverty-stricken than children with both parents at home.
9. An unmarried father has rights and responsibilities concerning custody, visitation and child support. However, an unmarried father needs to take legal action to obtain these rights and responsibilities.
10. Teen fathers face a lack of teen parent programs to help them.
11. Get the conversation about sex started. GO

– Teresa Roca is a NYC writer who is obsessed with celebrities, sports and movies. Her favorite cause is bullying and violence.

Sources:  DOSOMETHING.ORG , Stay Teen, The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, eHow, LiveStrong