by Ryan Grondin

Created on: April 04, 2009

Coming from a fatherless family myself, my views may differ from the views of most people. I wouldn't have changed a thing about my childhood, my mother did the best she could with what she had. I know that I grew up into the man I am today thanks to her. She gave me everything I needed, and I've actually gotten some praise from women for some of the morals instilled in me by my mother. I've been told I'm romantic, and I've been told I am very sensitive towards a woman's needs, I have a lot of respect for women because of the way my mother raised me.

As far as not having a male role model, I got everything I needed from the sports my mother enrolled me in, joining the boy scouts, karate, being around guys for sports and fitness, coaches, teachers, friends, family. I can't say that not having a father around was better than having one, but what I can say is that I turned out ok, so people that use not having a father figure as an excuse for what they lack socially is probably just that, an excuse.

I think with family values, no matter which parent might be missing, a child can be raised properly and without feeling like something is different. It's quite common to find families missing one parent these days, but that should not effect the way the family functions, I helped my mother raise my younger brother and if anything it brought us closer together, which is something of my friends have commented on. I've had people say they wished they had a relationship with their parents like I have with my mother.

You make the best of what you're given to work with, and as long as you're always striving to move forward and learn, teach and grow together, nothing can ever come between you and your family. No matter how large, or how small, a family is a family. I love my family and I know they'll always be a big part of my life. I don't think there can be a negative effect from being in a fatherless family when you keep a positive outlook on life in general. A good foundation will always last even when it's missing a few blocks.

The only thing not having a father around effected in my mind was making me want to be a father someday so that I could be there for my own children. And if you ask me, that isn't a negative effect at all. I can only hope that other fatherless children have found happiness in their lives regardless of their family's situation. Strength can always be found within a family, you just have to figure out how to harvest it.

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