One of the issues Senator Barack Obama has been discussing during the U.S. presidential campaign is the problem of absentee fathers, particularly in the African-American community.

Having more fathers own up to their responsibilities would mean a better America, Obama argues.  On June 15, he said:

We know that more than half of all black children live in single-parent households, a number that has doubled – doubled – since we were children. We know the statistics – that children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime; nine times more likely to drop out of schools and twenty times more likely to end up in prison. They are more likely to have behavioral problems, or run away from home, or become teenage parents themselves. And the foundations of our community are weaker because of it. (See full speech here).

The Importance of Dad

While many single parents perform heroically and many children in single-parent families go on to have full, successful lives (see: Barack Obama), it's generally agreed that being a single parent is a tremendous burden and many children growing up in that situation face enormous challenges.

So having two parents is important. But how important is it, as Senator Obama suggests, for one of those parents to be male?

There are some who believe that fathers are important, that they bring particular qualities to parenting and to a child's development that are crucial. But there are also those who believe that kids from single-mom families often struggle not because they're missing a dad per se, but that raising kids is so labour intensive that you need two parents to handle the load. Gender has nothing to do with it.

Others also argue that it's possible to have father figures in a child's life even if the actual father is not there: Grandfathers, uncles, older brothers, male teachers and coaches can carry out that father-like role for some children being raised by single moms. Obama's maternal grandfather, for example, was a significant presence in his early life. 

Your Take

So, as someone who is fortunate enough to have both a mom and a dad under one roof, I'm wondering: Is there something intrinsically important about fathers, or is it more important that there are simply enough adults around to share the work of raising a child?