Teen Fatherhood & The Death of Boyhood
By Roland C. Warren, President, National Fatherhood Initiative
Roland C. Warren
Due to several high profile celebrities becoming teen parents in recent years, our nation has been having one of its most candid conversations about teen fatherhood that I can remember.
However, the conversation has exposed our nation’s confusion and, at times, indifference about dealing with teen fathers. It has also exposed some of our lingering prejudices against fathers in general.
On the one hand, commentators often suggest that teen fathers need to “buck up” and “do the right thing.” Usually they simply mean providing financially, which is a symptom of our culture’s tendency to frame fatherhood in strictly economic terms.
On the other hand, some commentators seem to suggest that all parties would be better off if teen fathers were to move along, get on with their lives, and let the teen mother and her family deal with the pregnancy. After all, he has an education he needs to tend to, and he is just a boy who can’t possibly know how to raise a child effectively.
Therefore, it not surprising that teen fathers are too often locked into a “fight or flight” dichotomy.
