By Lucy Caulkett
Absent fathers are under our mighty pressure to man up to the responsibility of supporting their children financially or at least providing birthday and Christmas presents.
In the last week, The Eye Of Media.Com has contacted 11 fathers across the Uk after a number of readers responded to previous articles we have written on the subject. In the last month, The Eye Of Media.Com have received 26 complaints from aggrieved children and mothers in London, Essex and the Midlands. Some of our writers and researchers have attempted to contact the absent fathers, but have successfully tracked down 11 of them, to negotiate arrangements for them to make amends and cater for their children’s emotional needs.
Children with absent fathers who fail to support their emotional suffer the risk of severe emotional distress caused by an inferiority complex to other children who benefit from supportive fathers. Many single mothers support their children financially, but their are also many children whose mothers cannot afford to support them adequately financially. Even in those families where children are supported by their mother, this does not compensate for the conscious knowledge that their fathers are not contributing to their lives.
Children need the developmental input of their fathers, emotional and psychological support from fathers are absolutely essential. The pressures and influence from fathers are irreplaceable; useless fathers with little or no qualities to offer should at least contribute money to their children and not miss out on presents. Every child deserves the right to have experienced a father teach and play with them right from their childhood. The Eye Of Media.Com has been contacting absent fathers on phone, via facebook, and in some cases, by visiting them at known addresses.
In each case involving a home visit, a male and female writer attends with a cameraman, prepared for the possibility of a confrontation that may get nasty if sparked by the father in question or somebody from the address. I have personally been involved in 5 visits we have made to addresses, and so far we have not encountered severe hostility. Letters have first been sent to addresses we intended to visit, and we only visit addresses after all other means of phone or written contact have failed to produce a response. When told we already have a picture of the absent father in question and that we will expose in the event of a failure to co-operate with our reasonable goals, we have received co-operation.
Fathers who have insufficient income to assist their children are excused, but we stress the importance of them striving to expand their income. Any responsible father has the duty of equipping themselves financially to provide the minimum support necessary to their children, regardless of whether the children live with their mother or not. We are talking of children up until the age of 18, but children over 18 who never received the support of their father in their younger years can still be compensated with birthday presents even if they are no 25 years of age.
All 11 fathers we have spoken to in the last month have agreed to amend their ways and make improvements. In four of the cases, the partners of the absent parents have agreed to fill in the financial gap for their child. Te Eye Of Media.Com will be keeping a close eye on those we have spoken to.
Do you have an absent father abdicating their duties who you want us to confront? Contact us on Info@theeyeofmedia.com