Father facts

Father Facts 5 from the National Fatherhood Initiative lists these items as some relevant facts about the importance of fathers:

In America, 24.35 million children (33.5 percent) live absent their biological father.
Source: Krieder, Rose M. and Jason Fields. Living Arrangements of Children: 2001. Current Population Reports, P70-104. Table 1. Washington, D.C.: US Census Bureau, 2005.

Child Abuse: Using data from 1000 students tracked from seventh or eighth grade in 1988 through high school in 1992, researchers determined that only 3.2 percent of the boys and girls who were raised with both biological parents had a history of maltreatment. However, a full 18.6 percent of those in other family situations had been maltreated.
Source: Smith, Carolyn and Terence P. Thornberry. “The Relationship Between Childhood Maltreatment and Adolescent Involvement inDelinquency.” Criminology, 33 (1995): 451-479.

Poverty: In 1997, 65% of poor children lived in households that did not include their biological fathers, compared to 25% of children who were not poor.
Source: Feeley, Theresa J. “Low Income Noncustodial Fathers: A Child Advocate’s Guide to Helping Them Contribute to the Support of Their Children.” National Association of Child Advocates Issue Brief, National Association of Child Advocates, Washington, D.C., February, 2000.

Education: A study of 1,330 children from the Panel Survey of Income Dynamics showed that fathers who are involved on a personal level with their child’s schooling increases the likelihood of their child’s achievement. When fathers assume a positive role in their child’s education, students feel a positive impact.
Source: McBride, Brent A., Sarah K. Schoppe-Sullivan, and Moon-Ho Ho. “The mediating role of fathers’ school involvement on student achievement.” Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 26 (2005): 201-216.

Crime: Children raised in single-parent families and surrounded by children of single-parent families at school are at the greatest risk of delinquency.
Source: Anderson, Amy L. “Individual and contextual influences on delinquency: the role of the single-parent family.” Journal of CriminalJustice, 30 (November 2002): 575-587.

Emotional and Behavioral Problems: A study using a nationally representative sample of 6,287 children ages 4-11 years old indicated that children in single-parent homes are more likely to experience emotional problems and use mental health services than children who live with both biological parents.
Source: Angel, Ronald J. and Jacqueline L. Angel. “Physical Comorbidity and Medical Care Use in Children with Emotional Problems.” Public Health Reports 111 (1996): 140-145.

Physical Health: A fathers’ body mass index (a measurement of the relative composition of fat and muscle mass in the human body) is directly related to a child’s activity level. In a study of 259 toddlers, more active children were more likely to have a father with a lower BMI than less active children.
Source: Finn, Kevin, Neil Johannsen, and Bonny Specker. “Factors associated with physical activity in preschool children.” The Journal of Pediatrics 140 (Jaary 2002): 81-85.

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If the baby's father will not be involved in the life of your daughter's child, who will act as father figure for that child? If no one will commit to this role, your daughter should research adoption so that her child can benefit from having a father figure. You may find it helpful to read the chapters "Where does the baby's fahter belong in all this?", "Forgiving the baby's father", "The importance of a father", "Should she parent alone?", and "Should she make an adoption plan?" from our book "How To Survive Your Teen's Pregnancy".