Most Low Income Fathers Say They are Prevented by Child's Mother From Having More Active Role

In the publication titled "In Their Own Voices" from the US Department of Health and Human Services from last year, low income fathers demonstrated an overwhelmed stated interest to play a positive role in their children's lives.

One of the most commonly listed barriers they brought up that they say prevented them from being as active in their offspring's life was the child's mother preventing them from doing so.

Keep in mind that this is the father's side of the story and that we are not getting the mother's side in this case but we are providing you with the father's side since his side is so often overlooked especially from low income backgrounds. All of the information from the screenshot was obtained from pg 4.


Quote:

"As fathers, these men desired to “be there” for their children and to help them avoid the same
mistakes they had made. Either at the time of birth or later in their children’s lives, many realized that they had something else to live for—their children. Fatherhood was often credited for being a catalyst for making positive life changes, for themselves and for their children"

"According to the fathers, the most common barrier to their involvement with their children was the ongoing contentious relationships with the mothers of their children. A byproduct of these contentious relationships was gatekeeping by the children’s mothers, which according to the fathers often limited access to their children and made it hard for them to be the kind of fathers they wanted to be."