Fatherhood, Men's Studies, Media - General & Miscellaneous, Media - Theory & Philosophy, Sex Role - United States

Throwaway Dads

Name: Throwaway Dads
Author: Ross D. Parke,Armin A Brott
ISBN: 9780395860410

by Ross D. Parke, Armin A Brott

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Overview

Are fathers really important? Of course they are. Yet we as a society have wittingly and unwittingly built nearly insurmountable barriers that restrict men's involvement with their children and families. Parke and Brott explode the myths of neglectful, uninterested, abusive, deadbeat, and lazy dads with real-life studies and statistics. They explain why the largely negative portrayal of fathers in books, television, and the movies is both inaccurate and harmful, training young boys and girls to see men as having little or no role in the family. The authors also examine in balanced fashion the dubious achievements of both the men's and women's movements in reevaluating men's and women's roles.

Complete with proposals for steps that men, women, employers, the medical community, the media, and the government can take to promote men's involvement in their children's lives, Parke and Brott offer a comprehensive look at how our entire society can experience the benefits and joys of active fatherhood.

About the Author, Ross D. Parke,Armin A Brott

Ross Parke, a professor of psychology at the University of California at Riverside, has more than thirty years of experience researching and writing about fatherhood. He lives in Riverside, California.

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Editorials

Library Journal

Psychologist Parke and Brott, the author of books like The Expectant Father, on making the most of fatherhood.

Kirkus Reviews

A wide-ranging, cool-headed response to the current predilection for dissing all the dads. Although the tide may be turning, there is still a strong tendency in the media and elsewhere to blame fathers for much of what is wrong with the American family: "deadbeat dad" is a favorite epithet, absent fathers a prevalent image. Parke (Psychology/Univ. of Calif., Riverside; Fathers, 1981) and Brott (The New Father: A Dad's Guide to the Toddler Years, not reviewed) set out to correct those prejudices, plus other negative mythic notions about the paterfamilias. A prevalent assumption: Though it's good to have a father around, it's still not so important to the child's development. Contradicting this, the authors cite studies suggesting that not only do teenagers with involved fathers tend to stay the course in school, getting better grades, but fathers who play with their children from the earliest years significantly influence intellectual and emotional development. Other myths reassessed include the idea that fathers are inferior caretakers, that they're dangerous or even abusive, and that they're lazy and irresponsible-as well as bumbling and useless. Analyzing both the men's and women's movements, Parke and Brott conclude that neither is getting across the message that "fathers matter." Moreover, they argue, women's organizations have been particularly damaging to the cause with their embrace of such tactics as opposing joint custody. The final chapter lists the sometimes deceptively simple actions that men, women, and their communities can take to encourage fathering.