How do I introduce her to him? This will be because the child’s parents have split up or because they never lived together in the first place. No matter why a parent it absent, a child should never be made to feel guilty about wanting to know more. My sons biological father and I have been separated since my child's birth. However, you need to take it very slowly and consider what’s best for your son, the Help for Families panel says. Noted sociologist, Dr. David Popenoe, is one of the pioneers of the relatively young field of research into fathers and fatherhood. He wasn't on the birth certificate and hasn't seen him. My daughter is four years old and doesn't really know what a father is. Again, plenty of kids with involved dads are out there smoking, drinking, and using a variety of drugs. The above blog gives some great tips for what someone can to do help a child cope with an absent parent. indicate that the child needs consistent comfort, reassurance, and the attentive presence of both parent and caregiver. child develop skills to cope with this difficult situation but you can’t really control whether another person, child or adult, is happy. A single parent can raise a child, but I can't deal with a selfish mother and an absent father. Another blog you may find helpful is In the Helping a Child Cope with an Absent Parent. Explaining an absent father (cont.) She has her grandpa and papa, but she has never known what a father is. Now his father wants to be involved in his life, and I want to know the best way to introduce my son to him. If the child's distress becomes extreme and persistent, however, caregivers or parents should seek help from a therapist with expertise in parent-infant psychotherapy. An important part of explaining an absent father to your kids is teaching them how to deal with their feelings. However, there is ample documentation and psychological study that both show that the factor of an absent dad plays a major role in substance abuse. Where is dad? What is ‘father absence’? A: It is great that you realize the importance of a father in a child’s life. Remind your child that her other parent is still very much a part of her life, even though he is far away. The increased odds due to an absent dad stem mostly from the feeling of abandonment. My child's father has been absent from her life for many years, he has never wanted to know her, and now he wants to be a part of her life. My fiancé has been in my sons life since he was 3 yrs old and has been a wonderful role model and is now called daddy. Destiny on January 24, 2018: I was born with both of my parents there for me and years later my dad cheated on my mom and left for a better family he was in my life for a few years after the fact until he shut me out. This is a very delicate situation. An Introduction to Father Absence Theory. Parents can be absent for a variety of reasons, divorce, death, military service, and it is important for children to feel like they can understand why a parent is not there and love them anyway. If the absence is short-term, encourage the absent parent to stay in touch with the child via phone, video chat, letters, and email as much as possible. Father absence is a term used by researchers to indicate that a child has lived for part or all of their childhood in a house without their biological father. Reassure them and let them know that you’re there if they need, but it’s important for them to know they can make themselves feel better too. 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