I don't always agree with Mr. Meeks, but GAWD, some people are just clueless: "My husband ran out on me and my kids. Therefore ALL fathers are useless." "My father was an abusive b-tard, therefore NOBODY needs a father." Where is the logic in these conclusions? When Larry Meeks urged fathers to stay in their children's lives and be involved parents, that DID NOT include beating the kids and their mothers. When Larry Meeks urged fathers to stay in their children's lives and be involved parents, that DID NOT imply that single mothers are not capable of raising perfectly good, law-abiding, high-achieving children. Yeah, single women can and do raise good kids, but how does that diminish the fact that having two loving and caring parents is a good thing, not a bad one? Yeah, there are abusive parents out there, both mothers and fathers, and yeah, the other parent needs to leave for his/her safety and the children's, but what does that have to do with non-abusive families?

Re: Ariana. Right on. A single-parent situation can be good; a two-parent situation is (nearly) always better. A dad is needed to teach sons how to be men and what that means...and daughters how to behave around men so that they aren't taken advantage of and abused by selfish (horny) young males. I will always be a big part of my daughter's life because there is a lot I can teach her that her mother cannot. I'm going to tell her about all the nonsense things guys will tell her when they're trying to get into her panties, for instance. Forewarned is forearmed.