Few things hamper a child as much as not having a father at home. “As a feminist, I didn’t want to believe it,” says Maria Kefalas, a sociologist who studies marriage and family issues and co-authored a seminal book on low-income mothers called Promises I Can Keep: Why Poor Women Put Motherhood Before Marriage. “Women always…
Read moreThe Moynihan Report
“From the wild Irish slums of the 19th-century Eastern seaboard, to the riot-torn suburbs of Los Angeles, is one unmistakable lesson in American history: a community that allows large numbers of young men to grow up in broken families, dominated by women, never acquiring any stable relationship to male authority, never acquiring any set of…
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Easter 1977 My father just turned 77 on Thursday. He and my mother are still alive, married and well. Early in the morning, my kids and I gave him a call to sing happy birthday. I think about how amazing it is to have the ability to call…
Read moreSingle Fatherhood in New York City
I recently did an interview for a graduate student of journalism at Columbia University. She found me through a post I made on a website about single parenthood and thought I would be a good person to talk with about my experiences as a single father in New York City. I want to share my…
Read moreIs a woman a better parent because of her gender?
I recently watched Kramer Vs. Kramer again. I think it should be required viewing for everyone. Not only is the story great, but the issues are also still relevant, and of course, it is one amazing film. The french toast scene at the end is truly heartbreaking. I know EXACTLY what Dustin Hoffman’s character is going through….
Read moreWhy I REFUSE To Pay Child Support
When people ask me how can I be divorced with two children and pay no child support, I tell them I took a cue from Nancy Reagan; I “just said no.” I took the road less traveled. One that more men should be allowed to travel. For the past 16 years, I have been…
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