Confessions of a Black Mr. Mom" by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Kannu

This is an interesting article but before that some other points. 

As an economic and psychological aspect, children raised in a family turn out to be better citizens, more educated, more economically active and happier. 

That said, divorce is quite high in western societies so quite a lot of families are not a twin parent family. 

Also the welfare state ensures that if you have a child out of wedlock then you have benefits and child support. Plus many other issues and factors mean that for some groups, some countries, the number of children being brought up in families without a father is extraordinarily high. And that has high individual, family, social, economic and societal costs like imprisonment, low income, drug abuse etc etc. 

difficult to fix this issue but some try to do so. Here's an article by a black father who is trying to be a father! Personally and emotionally speaking, I find this totally bewildering as to why a father wouldn't be 100% involved with his children. But as an economist I understand that this behaviour of black and other men abandoning their children is a natural outcome of the economic and social incentives. 

Society and the family structure   is changing dramatically, and will need careful observation for lessons learnt. 

Love

Baba

"Confessions of a Black Mr. Mom" by Ta-Nehisi Coates
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2001/0203.coates.html

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Respond to this Article March 2002

One man’s crusade to redefine African-American fatherhood.

By Ta-Nehisi Coates

In one of his more interesting comic sketches, Chris Rock compares one group of African Americans, “niggas,” to another more wholesome group, “black people.” “You know what really bugs me about niggas is the way they always take credit for stuff a normal man would just do,” says Rock. “Like, ŒI raised my kids.’”

By Rock’s definition, I know exactly where I belong among African Americans today. For I am sure that even for this meager deed of fatherhood I am performing, I deserve a lot more than credit. My mission sounds simple enough: carting my young son through West Manhattan to visit another friend, working in Chelsea. I have logged enough baby hours to earn the title “stay-at-home dad,” so I’m not exactly new to this. But our trek into the city elicits terror because of three converging factors: 1.) I am a hefty 6’4” black male—-anything can happen. 2.) It’s Manhattan—-everything might happen. 3.) My son is 7 months old—-something always happens.