Arrangements where fathers do not see enough of their children are costly, alienating, and counterproductive to kids, families, and society. Let me be clear. I am not defending the brute who physically abuses his wife and children, or the deadbeat dad who won t pay child support. These men, however, make up only a small percentage of fathers. Statistics show 80 percent of fathers with regular visitation with their children pay child support in full and on time.
Most fathers love their children and desperately want to be an equal part of their lives.
The reality that most fathers are good fathers has been distorted in recent years with prevalent media portrayals of fathers as deadbeats, scoundrels, or simply unnecessary. I am hard pressed to come up with many positive father role models when I go to the movies or turn on the television today. There is a ray of light at the end of the tunnel. The courts are recognizing that kids desperately need both parents and are working to do something about it. The passage of West Virginia s new family law bill in 1999 favors shared parenting, and allows family law masters to require mediation and parent education so parents can work out custody issues and do a better job of helping their children adapt to the divorce.