Who's Your Daddy?
In many single parent households, it usually consists of a mother with no father. For women, it can be a struggle to be the bread winner and the bread baker. For the kids, they can grow up a little unbalanced because of the lack of the opposite gender. Single parenthood is an epidemic that is well known in all races, regardless of family size. The biggest transition that can take place in a one-parent household is the new addition of a second parent. Most times, the children have a hard time adjusting to this new person. Even if their mother had been dating this person for a while, it’s different when the new person moves into the home.
Oftentimes, when the man is dating the mother, he is spending short periods of time with the kids. He may come over for dinner or a family outing, but the kids really don’t know this man until he lives in the house with them on a full-time basis. This is like a new job placement for him. At this point, he's going through the struggle of understanding his position with the kids. Now, honestly, we know that no child is born without the help of a male and female, but this new person can easily become confused in his role because he already knows the children have a father. In essence, it makes it difficult, especially when his new "job description" is to be a father figure. He will want to know where the real father is, are the kids supposed to call him Daddy now, and what are all of his obligations to the children. It is said that "when you take the cow, you take the calves." How true is that statement?
Many men step into the lives of women partially equipped to be a husband or father figure for her children. They are often learning as they go and also making mistakes along the way. However, for the men who are unsure of the position they are embarking upon, understand this: When you come into the lives of a woman and her kids, it's not greater feeling than to have the kids look upon as the father they've been missing and needing.
Once he becomes the head of the household, it doesn’t matter if the children have a relationship with their biological father or not. Those children are now a product of him. So whether you say; stepdad, acting-daddy, father figure or just plain ol, Daddy, understand that you are the man over their lives. As a result, you must be the best man that you can be for them.
