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Give deadbeat dads a chance

Published:Sunday | October 21, 2018 | 12:00 AM

THE EDITOR, Sir:

While some fathers are absent because of imprisonment, some have left the household or failed to live up to their responsibilities.

Recent surveys have found that when you ask absentee fathers themselves, a selfish man who plants his seed everywhere he goes is not what you see. These are men who really did not want to leave their children and follow in even their own father's footsteps, who have confessed to trying to stay or to build a relationship with the child.

Before we bash them or hate them any further, I am proposing a new approach. Let us try to understand them.

There are many factors that may contribute to him making such a decision. Let us not assume that he is a bad person. Is the relationship between the child's mother and father working? Is it positive or toxic? Most men aren't running away from the child; but they could just be running away from the mother.

Let us forgive those who deserve understanding and forgiveness. If possible, let us give them a chance.

Are you a child who grew up without a father but know where he is? Find him. Talk to him. You will never know what happened or what he went through.

LENEKA RHODEN

lenekarhoden@gmail.com