Father's Corner - MostWantedDeadbeats.com

Father and Family Resources

A Father's Role
To be a good father is the most important job in a man's life, but it doesn't have to be hard. Play catch, go to a park or visit a zoo. Help your child with their homework. Sit down together for dinner. Ask them how their day was. Things get busy, and sometimes we all fall short, but the smallest moments can have the biggest impact on a child's life. Take time to be a dad today.

Spotlight on military fathers and their families

Military fathers and their families face extraordinary stress before, during and after deployment. Although the physical and psychological risks of active combat for soldiers are well known, the implications of deployment for soldiers’ partners and their children have not been documented widely Read More… (PDF - 103 KB)

For more information and resources available for Military Fathers and Families:
http://www.ptsd.va.gov/

MWDB Resource Center

For fathers and families, these short articles help dads think about the ways their involvement affects the lives of their children. "Spotlight on Dads" resources are designed specifically for dads, and for programs to be able to share with fathers. "Spotlight on Dads" help dads think about the ways their involvement affects the lives of their children. Each contains suggestions on books or movies that dads can use to learn more, and a page of discussion and thought provoking questions to further think about each issue.

Deployed Dads :	Preparing Children for Separation (2009)
Healthy Relationships :	Letting Go of the Past (2009)
A Father's Laughter :	Sharing the Fun and Joy of Childhood (2008)
The Courage to Fail :	Dealing with Life's Lessons (2008)
Unbreakable Bond :	The Strength of a Father's Love (2008)
Forever Family :	Ancestors Who Shaped Our Lives (2008)
Praise with a Purpose :	Encouraging Children to Succeed (2008)

MWDB Quick Statistics

These brief research-based pieces focus on specific topics related to responsible fatherhood and include graphs, charts, and bullet points to illustrate the findings. Written with researchers and program development in mind, they can be useful resources for students, researchers, and proposal support.

Fathers and Living arrangements of children under 18 ( 2008 )
Father involvement ( 2008 )
Nonresident Fathers ( 2008 )
Immigrant Fathers
Fathers and Child Support
Fathers and Alcohol Abuse
Fathers and Depression
Fathers and Marriage
Fathers and Cohabitation
Fathers and Fertility
Fathers: Attitudes, Values, Expectations, and Motivations

Father and Family Resources

The well-being of children and families begins with responsible fathers. It begins with you. Research tells us that children with involved fathers enjoy more positive outcomes in many domains, including self-esteem, school performance and social development. You, as a father, can make a difference every day. Families and communities play a critical role in helping fathers stay involved with, and supportive of, their kids. MWDB, INC. is designed to help you as a father or family member learn about why being an actively involved dad is so important, and to learn creative and effective strategies for getting involved and staying involved in the lives of your children.

Tips for Parents

No one ever said parenting was easy. But no one ever said that you had to go it alone. MWDB, INC. is committed to helping fathers succeed. MWDB, INC. will strive to provide resources to help fathers find answers to their parenting questions. Our online community was designed to help father’s connect with others in similar situations so you can build a support network of your own. Each parenting situation is different. Raising boys is different than raising girls. Teenagers and toddlers present entirely different challenges. Consider reaching out to other fathers you know and talk about your experiences.

Fathers and Education

When fathers are involved in the lives of their children, especially their education, their children learn more, perform better in school, and exhibit healthier behavior. Even when fathers do not share a home with their children, their active involvement can have a lasting and positive impact. There are countless ways to be involved in your child’s education at all ages.

National Fatherhood Initiative: According to a 2007 National Center for Education Statistics Report:

92% of students in grades K though 12 had parents who reported receiving information from the school on the student’s performance.

83% had parents who received information about how to help with homework.

59% of students in grades K through 12 had parents who were "very satisfied" with their child’s school; 55% had parents who were very satisfied with the school’s parent-staff interactions.

Health and Safety

Children need involved fathers in every aspect of their lives, including health and safety. From knowing how to properly handle a cut or scrape, to making sure that a child attends regular doctor check-ups and receives mandated vaccinations, involved fathers can make a significant, positive difference. There are many situations where a father's involvement in their child's health and safety is important. Here are some beginning tips to use as a father, or to incorporate into a Responsible Fatherhood program. Center for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease control, features easy to navigate sections on a range of health and safety issues for parents with children of all ages. Look up information on the flu, ways to eat healthier as a family, vehicle safety tips, child development, and age specific topics from infancy through senior health. Don’t forget to check in on ways to keep yourself as a parent healthy. Children learn by example, and you can do your best parenting when you’re at your healthiest. Take steps to manage weight, monitor for disease and make safe choices throughout the year.

Home Treatments

Crying:

1. Babies learn to trust you when you help them stop crying. A child cries when they     need something, and will learn to trust you when you respond to meet his or her     needs.
2. Try offering a pacifier. If your child is full of milk or formula offering a bottle can     make your baby's tummy hurt. Offering a pacifier can satisfy the sucking reflex.
3. If you child is older, but still a toddler, try moving your child around. Try a swing, a     bouncy seat, or go for a walk in the stroller or a ride in the car seat.

Burns:

1. Run cool water over the burned area for at least 15 minutes. Skin damage can continue even after you remove the cause of the burn. Apply cool water to stop the damage. You can also use a bowl of cool water, rather then running water to soak the burn area:
2. If the burn blisters, cover it with a non-stick gauze type dressing.

Treating Minor Cuts and Scrapes:

1. Gently clean a minor cut or scrape with soap and water. Don't use iodine, Betadine® or mercurochrome because they destroy skin and cause more harm than good.
2. Apply antibiotic ointment and cover the cut or scrape with a non-stick bandage.
3. If bleeding is slow and steady, and it slows with direct pressure, it's probably minor. BUT if the blood is pulsing (coming in spurts) from a cut or scrape, it's probably coming from an artery. This type of wound needs medical attention right away.

Poisoning:

You can reach poison control, no matter where you are! Call 1-800-222-1222 to connect you to the nearest poison control. Keep this number in your wallet and near the phone. If you think your child is poisoned:

1. Take the substance you think poisoned your child away from him or her.
2. Ensure that your child is breathing and that his or her airway is clear.
3. Make sure that you have the container that had the substance to let poison control know the substance you think poisoned your child.
4. Call poison control.
5. Do what poison control tells you to do. If they tell you to go to the emergency room, take the container with you.

The Importance of Fathers

What is the Importance of Fathers?

Research literature supports the finding that a loving and nurturing father improves outcome for children, families and communities. Recent research results show that fathers who live with their children are more likely to have a close, enduring relationship with their children. Other results show that children with involved, loving fathers are significantly more likely to do well in school, have healthy self-esteem, exhibit empathy and pro-social behavior, and avoid high-risk behaviors including drug use, truancy and criminal activity. MWDB, INC. recognizes that child poverty is among the most pervasive social problems challenging Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and other poor households—due to the combination of children born to single mothers, father absence and high unemployment. MWDB, INC. also recognizes that child poverty can be reduced via supporting and strengthening the role of fathers in needy families via:

• promoting and sustaining healthy marriages through a variety of activities, including    programs to teach couples marriage and relationship skills.
• equipping men to be responsible fathers through skill-based parenting education.
• assisting men to achieve financial stability in the form of more consistent and higher    earnings.
• supporting incarcerated fathers in the development of healthy marriages and    effective fathering skills.

In addition, the MWDB, INC. recognizes the importance of father involvement
and is guided by the following principles:

• All fathers can be important contributors to the well-being of their children.
• Parents are partners in raising their children, even when they do not live in the    same household.
• The roles fathers play in families is diverse and related to cultural and community    norms.
• Men should receive the education and support necessary to prepare them for the    responsibility of parenthood.
• Government can encourage and promote father involvement through its programs    and through its own workforce policies.

Who Needs Fathers?

American children are in crisis and families are in need of assistance due to father absence.
• Research results show that 24 million children (34 percent) live absent their    biological father.
• Other results show that children who live absent their biological fathers are more    likely to be poor, to use drugs, to experience educational, health, emotional and    behavioral problems, to be victims of child abuse, and to engage in criminal behavior    than their peers who live with their married, biological (or adoptive) parents.
• Thus, reducing father absence via supporting and encouraging fathers to become    actively involved in their child's life offers significant potential to reduce the adverse    effects of father absence and to empower individual lives, foster families, and    contribute to community wellbeing.

Can Fathers Reduce Child Poverty?

The presence of a responsible father significantly reduces child poverty.
• Research results show that children in father-absent homes are five times more likely to be poor.
• In 2002, 7.8 percent of children in married-couple families were living in poverty, compared to 38.4 of children in female-headed householder families.



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