Who's your daddy?

I agree with your point: we should place more importance on fathers. However, I believe it more difficult to do so with the media implying that men are more self-sufficient, and whatnot. Many women are under the impression that they don't need a man in their lives, and this is also a strong notion for why the media hasn't exactly exulted the fact that 39% of children don't grow up with their father.

I completely agree that the role of both parents are significant for the upbringing of a child, however as you mentioned this is not always the luxury to all relationships. What I personally believe is that it does not really matter if the father is the biological parent or not, but is merely a father figure for the child. Someone to guide him/her through the hardships of growing up, and acting as a support system for the child. Father figures can also take many forms, such as a step father, coach, teacher, uncle, etc. Just someone who will act as a safe role model and is in best interest for that child, even if this figure does not financially support the mother or the family. Moral/emotional support is of more importance in the role of parenting.

I definitely agree that a father often plays an important role in the development of a child. I also believe that two parent households are ideal settings for raising children. Although my father has a presence in my life, I, like 29 million other children in the United States, grew up living in a home without my father. I think that living in a house without a father has much less of an impact than does not knowing your father at all. But I also do believe that several children who grow up never having known their fathers do turn out okay. I think that when a father isn't present, the mother should try to make up for this herself.