EDITORIAL

Today is Father’s Day in Barbados and in many other countries across the world. It is on this day that we salute fathers and honour the contribution that fathers make to society through the nurturing and teaching of their children, as well as through their role in heading and completing the family unit. That said, we still have some distance to go in celebrating and embracing the importance of fathers in the 

lives of our children and ultimately our communities.

 

Over the years, stories of men who have walked away from their partners and abandoned their children have been given prominence in the media both here and abroad. Many have been blamed, and rightly so, for the behaviour of young males, especially those who have issues related to indiscipline in schools or who end up before the courts because adult males have not played a substantial role in their lives nor have they set a good example overall. It is beyond question that the guidance of a reliable male is essential in any boy’s upbringing, and instances such as these have placed many fathers in a negative light so much so that some people have created in their minds the false image that men do not have it within themselves to love and care for their children in the same way that women do. The men who engage in the undesirable behaviour mentioned are therefore not only doing themselves a disservice, but are also impacting negatively on the lives of their male offspring.

 

However, today, The Barbados Advocate would like to encourage all readers to highlight, beyond today, the attributes of men who work tirelessly to contribute, not only financially to their families, but emotionally to the development of their children. We seldom see in the limelight the single father who has taken the place of the mother and works equally hard to ensure his child’s success; nor do we see regularly the father who is going above and beyond to have a relationship with his child/children because he does not live in the same household with them.

 

Recently, Barbados’ newest High Court Judge Pamela Beckles, raised discussion in the media about fathers who are not given a chance to have a relationship with their child due to conflict between them and the child’s mother. She stressed that children have a right to bond with their fathers, who also have a right to have access to their offspring whether or not they can afford to pay maintenance. In previous years Ralph Boyce, former head of MESA (Men’s Educational Support Association), called for equality with regard to the revamping of the Maintenance Act whereas men are required to pay child support to a former spouse, even for a child that is not theirs. These are but a few obstacles that fathers encounter daily. 

 

However, men have made strides in their approach to child rearing as they, along with society, are seeing their role as more than the provider of monetary support. Yet they are constantly maligned by some feminists in the public domain.

 

The time has come for a change in our attitude towards fathers. Many of us can attest to touting the value of mothers but not acknowledging the true value of our fathers. Men are embracing fatherhood, so we too must embrace them.