What about UK's devoted dads? from the Leicester Mercury 26th January 2011

[Alison J Stevens]

What about UK's devoted dads?

T his month's Panorama series on Britain's missing dads focused on feckless fathers – a term used to describe fathers who do not connect with their responsibilities as a parent and are often absent from children's lives, leaving the mothers in a distressing situation.

As a woman, it would only be natural to empathise with the single mothers, but while watching Panorama's report, I found myself on the side of the single fathers.

From knowing dedicated teenage single fathers, I felt Panorama's portrayal of today's young fathers inaccurate and biased. The programme was dominated by footage of the struggling young single mums, emphasising their dedication to their parental responsibilities. This was then juxtaposed with a stereotypical representation of the "feckless fathers", one whom couldn't even remember the names of all seven children he had fathered.

Although Panorama did delve into the lives of the more devoted single fathers, a biased account was still evident through Labour MP Frank Field's patronising comments on the unemployed status of the fathers.

After viewing the TV report, society seems to associate single parenthood as motherhood. This brought one question to mind, where are Britain's dedicated single fathers and why is there not more positive emphasis on them?

I interviewed one young person who was certainly not one of Britain's missing fathers. Eighteen year old Dean Herrigan, from Rutland, has been involved in his son's life right from the start. Only 18 when he found out his girlfriend was pregnant, Dean attended parental classes intending to be a fully devoted father figure.

"I attended to get a further insight on parenting things."

Even after the split with the mother of his child, his involvement in the child's life was obvious. "I did not want to be like some young dads are and just forget their responsibilities."

It is not just Dean's commitment as a father, but his determination to succeed in life and provide for his child which shows Britain certainly has some fathers to be proud of. "I am still at college in my third year, but I wouldn't want to live off benefits and that's why I am in full time education."

"I think there should be a bit more focus on single dads as they get slated, but in some cases mothers do not let the father see their child if they break up."

Britain may have "feckless fathers" but what about the country's devoted dads.