I recently heard a young woman say men are only needed for one thing, but the rest of it would be better if women did it themselves. If you haven’t guessed yet, she was talking about having and raising children. After more than twenty years of marriage, I tried to offer her a little insight into how wrong that idea was. First of all, kids are hard to raise. And just because you are their mother doesn’t mean they’ll go any easier on you. I’m grateful that I never had to face down a tantrum alone, or more likely these days a teenage mood swing. My husband isn’t just hanging out in the background either, for some of our kids he’s the point man. Let’s face it, not all personalities mesh so well, but in those moments my kids have two of us to contend with. And my husband and I are very different when it comes to approach but our goals are the same, so I have no problem stepping back and letting him do the talking.

It saddens me that fathers are being minimalized in this day and age. I see the important role they play every day. You need and want your children to have a father in their life. I don’t care how strong of a woman you think you are, a good father brings unique qualities into a home that aren’t easily replicated by other means.