The young men I talk to wanted me to hold off on their stories until after Father’s Day.  There were several incidents involving extramarital affairs. The guys just didn’t feel the TIME was right. They all strongly felt they would never get the credit or receive the RECOGNITION… mothers are validated for parenting their children.

Conversing with these young men revealed friends, other family members and associates who always would give the mother strong RECOGNITION as the award-winning parent.  Many fathers who do not take responsibility for their children. This has given those fathers who want to share in the responsibility of raising their children a bad reputation.

Labels like absentee fathers, deadbeat dads, no call no-show fathers, are hard to live down. They want to participate in their child’s life. It is their biggest fear of not having their fathers in their life, making it very devastating for them not to participate in the lives of their children.

Many of the laws have changed concerning children’s placement with their parents. Courts are in session and the men feel more negotiation and emphasis is being placed on the child’s best interest instead of the parents. It gives the men more hope and an equal opportunity they will not be disregarded in the child’s placement. These fathers worried about their children being moved around as chest pieces or used as bargaining chips. Men feel more hoops are put in place for them to jump through in comparison to the mothers.  It is worth the training day at the circus just to be around their kids. The stories of these young men are told from the perspective of the FLIP SIDE OF THE CHART. It tells of the struggles they had with their fathers, how they hid their unique abilities and the effect it had on their own relationships. It demonstrates what these young men had to do in order to maintain being a father. No matter what it took, breaking a vicious cycle of not being a loving, supportive, and a responsible parent was No. 1 on the list for these men. It is the VALIDATION of CREDITABILITY that lends true RECOGNITION TO LIFE. Everyone has a story to tell, being heard is significant but understanding what one hears gives RECOGNITION to those who thought they would not get the credit.