{"id":2306,"date":"2026-06-20T04:10:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T04:10:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2306"},"modified":"2026-06-20T04:10:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T04:10:56","slug":"analysis-it-does-take-a-village-but-it-also-takes-a-father","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2306","title":{"rendered":"Analysis: It does take a village. But it also takes a father"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Come to an activity at the married student housing at Brigham Young University, and you will be blown away by the number of young fathers holding newborns in casual football holds, tossing babies in the air or balancing toddlers on their shoulders. They are clearly in love with this stage of life, despite the demands of early parenthood.<\/p>\n

Read more Ice cold: An audit of my worst NHL prediction season yet<\/a><\/p>\n

I watch my husband, Porter, lovingly play with our 2-month-old son, clearly finding deep purpose in his role as a dad. But a look at the data shows that this scene is becoming more of an anomaly in America \u2014 and its absence carries a heavy cost.<\/p>\n

David Brooks has famously argued that the isolated nuclear family is fragile and that humans historically thrived in extended, \u201cthick\u201d community networks. Ranked No. 1 in social capital, Utah has exceptionally \u201cthick\u201d community and religious networks \u2014 so much so that its single-mother rate is nearly one-third lower than the national average. <\/p>\n

But does this make the nuclear family, with a father and mother, somehow less important? Can \u201cforged families\u201d fully replace the roles of fathers?<\/p>\n

In 2025, scholars from the University of Virginia, the Brookings Institution and several other institutions released a landmark study on the impact of fatherhood on childhood mental health and behavioral challenges in Virginia. <\/p>\n

After Utah family policymakers saw a need for similar data in the state, I set out to explore the same questions working with BYU\u2019s School of Family Life. The results were startling. <\/p>\n

In Utah, roughly 80% of children grow up in intact, father-present homes \u2014 defined as living with both biological or adoptive parents. While the 20% who don\u2019t have a father at home are less likely to live in poverty compared to the national average, our data showed that even the strongest community safety net in America cannot fully substitute for a present father. <\/p>\n

That is especially evident when it comes to a child\u2019s grades and mental health. In Utah, a dad in the home means a child is more than twice as likely to get straight As (48% vs 20%). But if that dad is missing, Utah kids actually struggle more academically than the national average. <\/p>\n

Children in father-present homes, both in Utah and nationally, are also less likely to be diagnosed with depression. Utah children ages 4 to 17 in father-absent homes experience depression at almost triple the rate (14%) compared with homes where a father is present (5%). This also mirrors the national stats on childhood depression (10% in fatherless homes, 4% in homes with a father). <\/p>\n

Boys are particularly vulnerable to what Jenet Erickson called \u201crelational poverty,\u201d with 13% of boys in father-absent homes diagnosed with depression compared to just 5% of boys in intact families. Girls also experience higher rates of depression without a father at home, but the contrast is less sharp, probably because girls are more likely to be diagnosed in the first place.<\/p>\n

Our best data makes it clear that fathers provide a unique form of relational capital that helps both boys and girls steer clear of depression and emotional instability, independent of the family\u2019s bank account. <\/p>\n

Read more Elder Bednar encourages families to be \u2018focused on remembering who they are\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Fathers provide a unique form of relational capital that helps both boys and girls steer clear of depression and emotional instability.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As we encourage father-present homes, it\u2019s worth getting more specific: What does it mean for a dad to be truly present? This is about more than just occupying a seat at the dinner table. In varying ways, dads who are emotionally present can be a critical influence in forming their children\u2019s character. For example, research suggests that fathers who are willing to stop and enjoy rough-and-tumble play with their children teach boys and girls how to manage their emotions in appropriate ways and respond constructively to challenges.<\/p>\n

Additionally, there appears to be a special impact from highly involved fathers in preparing children to deal with life. This often happens through conversations about work, politics and future plans. In practice, this may look like keeping children accountable for grades and behavior. Even the way fathers hold their children as infants (on their shoulders, upside down) exposes them to different physical perspectives that can prime them to be more flexible in approaching problems from different angles later on.<\/p>\n

Brooks is right: When it comes to discussing the problems facing our country, we don\u2019t talk about family enough because Americans have become uncomfortable saying definitively what strong family life requires andno longer share a clear vision of what family life should look like.<\/p>\n

But if fathers are as critical to healthy child development as this research suggests, both emotionally and academically, perhaps we should do more to help men (and everyone) catch a larger vision of their value.<\/p>\n

My husband has been my biggest cheerleader since I gave birth to our first child, and I love watching him father our son. Porter frequently tells me that he has never been happier, even though he\u2019s the one volunteering to change as many diapers as possible! <\/p>\n

Being a father is a powerful motivator and source of joy for him. In his words, \u201cDads do a lot for babies, but babies do a lot for dads.\u201d I can already see how Porter\u2019s participation in our child\u2019s upbringing is invaluable. That\u2019s true for my son and for each of our childhoods. <\/p>\n

Those raised without this kind of stable, loving influence of a father can still find strong mentorship and fatherly support in other places. And none of this is to suggest those wounds can\u2019t ever heal. <\/p>\n

But the impact of a father\u2019s absence or aggression is real \u2014 and needs to be taken seriously. <\/p>\n

Money and community can replace a paycheck, but they can\u2019t replace a dad. This Father\u2019s Day, let\u2019s recognize that a father\u2019s most important contribution to his children is more than his revenue. It\u2019s his presence in the home. <\/p>\n

Read more Despite Christian Pulisic\u2019s absence, US beats Australia 2-0 to advance to World Cup knockout round<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Utah has America\u2019s strongest community safety net. The data shows a father is still irreplaceable<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2305,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nAnalysis: It does take a village. But it also takes a father - American Movers Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2306\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Analysis: It does take a village. 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