Welcome back to another #DadTalkThursdays ! The month of August is Child Support Awareness Month and the DSHS is hoping to not only bring awareness but also to help those who face barriers when it comes to financially supporting their families. With 360,000 kids being helped each year and 682 million dollars collected through child support, there is an obvious need for strong father figures in today's society. I want to help shed some light on this and remind dads that being loving, caring, and involved in their children's lives does not make them less of a man. Of course, there is a multitude of different reason why a father is missing from a family. Some worthy, and some not so much. This is the reality and the plain thought of 24 million children living without their biological dad is staggering. ( National Fatherhood Initiative).
Take a look at these stats and you will realize how important a father's role is in our children's lives! Dads aren't just the provider, the bread winner, the man of the house. It's really none of that quite frankly. Our kids need a role model, someone to look up to, strong family values, and a dad to love them, talk to, play with, and be there for them. If you took a look at those last stats, a fathers' absence is near detrimental to a kids life. I would love to see these numbers go down,  and as a dad blogger / influencer, I feel the responsibility to shed all the light possible on these realities. 
I am fortunate to have had a great dad in my life but life is not perfect and there were moments where I started to act up or feel down. Looking back at those times in my life I can see a correlation between my dad going on long work trips, missing my birthdays because of it and how I behaved and thought. I can remember feeling a disconnect, even though my dad was in my life, he wouldn't be there for many weeks at some points. Now I understand and can see how a father's absence can affect a home. 
So whether you pay child support through monetary means or give your quality time and bond with your kids, there is a need for this awareness. There is a need for more father figures, there are kids in need. And in all honesty, I believe that our communities and societies would be in a much better state if fathers would simply be involved in their families lives. Would you agree? 
I invite you to be the best dad you can be, not only for yourself but because your kids deserve a loving and involved dad. 
You can watch the Facebook Live about Child Support Awareness Month below!
See you back next week for #DadTalk Thursdays
What are your thoughts on fatherhood today??