Men are vital to society

Dear Editor: HealthDay News reported on May 31 a study published by Infant Health Journal that once again reaffirms the importance of fathers. British researchers showed that infants at 3 months whose fathers interacted with them regularly did better on thinking skill tests at age 2 than other infants.

Despite a society that tries to degrade fathers, study after study shows the important and irreplaceable role fathers play in the lives of their children. Families with a father present are economically better off. Children are less likely to take drugs, have teen pregnancies and go to prison. Children raised in homes with fathers tend to stay in school and are less likely to suffer depression and attempt suicide.

Not bad for a bunch of useless oafs as we are portrayed on television. Not a bad gift to females despite the rhetoric of angry feminists.

The greatest thing men can do in this life is not earn six-figure incomes or have the high score on “Donkey Kong”; it’s to be a loving husband and a loving father. Both are essential to a happy home, and both are vital to a healthy, prosperous society.

Men should not buy into the propaganda that they are unimportant. They are vital. Nothing men can do will have a more lasting impact than being a good dad and a good husband. Happy Father’s Day.

Jeffrey Mahoney, Hyde Park