Poor, noncustodial fathers who have jobs are more likely than unemployed dads to pay child support, they note. Instead, these hard-headed professors urge more practical solutions, like reconstructing traditional masculine ideology so men care for infants as much as women. Family bonds last. They develop new emotional, financial and erotic obligations to spouses or romantic partners who aren't in love with their kids. They find new things to fight about too often, as mothers experience repeated disappointments and fathers juggle their various conflicting emotions and obligations.
All parents struggling to raise responsible kids deserve our support.
But a few words issued from an ivory tower aren't going to change the reality of fatherlessness that, sadly, too many of our children today know by heart. These pages are dedicated to all kids, but especially to Riana, Maia, and Christopher.