About Fathers

Perspectives on fathers and their children

Journalist Paul Raeburn is the author of the soon to be published Are Fathers Necessary: The New Science of Fatherhood. He is also the author of the Fathers and Families blog. See full bio

January 26, 2009

Child support: Iraq vet must pay for child of another man

A 19-year Army veteran, now on his third tour in Iraq, will have his Army pay garnished and his tax refund seized to pay child support for a boy who isn't his.

Genetic tests prove the child is not the son of Master Sgt. Christopher Sprowson.

January 22, 2009

Child Support: How much is too much?

On Jan. 1, Massachusetts adopted new child-support guidelines that will likely raise the amount paid by non-custodial parents, usually fathers. Read More

January 15, 2009

Unemployment--and Crimes Committed Against Our Children

Last week, the Labor Department reported that 11.1 million Americans are unemployed, 50 percent more than a year ago.

You might not expect this government statistic to be reported by Psychology Today, but it's vitally important to fathers, mothers, and to our children's futures.

January 12, 2009

Affordable health care--harder than it looks

We're eight days from the beginning of the Obama administration and the promise of affordable health insurance for everyone. But a new report from the nonprofit consumer group Families USA highlights how difficult it will be to keep that promise. Read More

December 8, 2008

Divorce Calculator: Determine your risk in 10 seconds

We like to think we are complicated creatures, and that it would take a vast amount of study and observation to determine what the divorce risk is for those of us who are married. How could someone tell me whether I'm likely to stay married without knowing all the uncomfortable details of my previous marriage, for example, or whether I'm an empathetic husband and father? Read More

December 5, 2008

Welfare and child support: Nobody wins

The collective child-support debt owed by non-custodial parents--usually fathers--is about $105 billion. That's an impressive figure, but it doesn't represent money that deserving children are losing.

Half of that money is owed not to children--but to the state and federal governments. Read More

November 25, 2008

Michael Kimmel's sketchy tour of 'guyland'

Micheal Kimmel is a sociologist and one of the leading authorities on men and masculinity. His books include Manhood in America: A Cultural History, The Politics of Manhood and Changing Men. But his new book, Guyland, is perplexing. Read More

September 24, 2008

New Documentary Indicts Child Support

On Feb. 4, 2005, David Hernandez Arroyo Sr., wearing a flak jacket and bullet-proof vest, shot and killed his ex-wife with an AK-47 assault rifle on the steps of the Smith County Courthouse in Tyler, Texas. He also shot his adult son in the legs, and killed a bystander who rushed in to help the victims. Read More

July 28, 2008

Are Men Under Siege?

Book review: In Save the Males: Why Men Matter and Why Women Should Care (Random House), Kathleen Parker argues that feminists have undermined men. And she explains what must be done about it. Read More

July 8, 2008

Should child custody be based on pre-divorce share of caretaking?

Judges are supposed to decide custody after divorce by doing what's "in the best interests of the child." That can be tough to figure out, so legal scholars are proposing an alternative: Children should spend as much time with each parent after the divorce as they did before. But a psychologist argues that this so-called "approximation rule" has little basis in science-and tilts against fathers. Read More

Books by Paul Raeburn

Acquainted with the Night: A Parent's Quest to Understand Depression and Bipolar Disorder in His Children

Parenting Basics

Parenting can be the most stressful--and rewarding--job of your life. We can all think of ways we'd do things differently from our parents, and no doubt your kids will find ways they would parent differently from you.

Go to the Parenting Basics page for more on Parenting including:

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