The Big Answer

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Fathers play with kids fairly often, but are usually absent when it comes to caregiving. The average dad interacts with his baby less than 38 seconds a day. He warns us that the answer isn’t a political or social engineering one—reinvigorating the grassroots community is the main strategy needed. He quotes John McKnight’s book, Social Policy:

Fathers play with kids fairly often, but are usually absent when it comes to caregiving

McKnight says “Despite legions of therapists, social workers, and bureaucrats, we have created crime-making correctional systems, sickness-making health systems and stupid-making schools. This system is set up for failure because it excludes the most important component of society: the community, the social sphere made up of family, friends, neighbors . . .”

He is advising us also to correct the misguided habit of policy makers of seeing a world that is based upon what each person lacks. Communities need to build on capacity, talents, assets, resources, character and potential, as they did in times past; only after all of this is a fait accompli should deficiencies be analyzed.

We have created sickness-making health systems; this system is set up for failure because it excludes the most important component of society: community