It has been suggested by Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, in an interview carried out near the end of May, that fatherlessness is the main source of quite a few of the modern-day societal issues we are dealing with and has called on fathers to assist their kids by being “present,” “interested,” and “setting a good example.”
“If you had every kid in America had a loving father in the home, we would have far, far fewer problems that we would have to deal with as a society,” stated DeSantis in a late May interview with the podcast First Class Fatherhood.
The governor went on to add: “I do think there are a lot of problems, but if you could just snap your finger and do one thing, and you did this where the fathers were in the home, you would not even need to worry about a lot of these other problems.”
As reported by a data set compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau, just about 18 million kids, which equates to almost one in four, in the United States do not have a father in their home. DeSantis, who has actively drawn on these statistics in the past, pressed fathers to stay present in their kids lives and to spend as much time as actually possible with their kids.
“When my daughter was born, I was a member of congress at the time up in Washington,” he stated. “So I’m looking at myself, I’m sitting up in my office in D.C., wondering, ‘Why the hell am I up here? I really want to be back down.’”
Throughout his time as governor, DeSantis has stated that he has quite a bit more on his plate than he ever did as an active member of Congress, but also has stated that he has found the job quite a bit more “family friendly.”
“I can go out and do stuff all day and be home for dinner,” he stated. “Even if I get home late, I see them in the morning. And so part of the reason why I ended up running for governor is because I had two young kids at home, and so if I’m going to do public service I wanted to make sure I can do it in a way that is family friendly.”
“I try to get back for dinner, try to get back to put them to bed, get them up in the morning, and of course doing as many activities with them as possible,” explained the governor, explaining that he attempts to involve his kids in his role as governor as much as possible.
“I brought my son to a multi-city stop one day. We did a bunch of press conferences. The last press conference, he fell asleep on the floor during the press conference, so I had to grab him and take him out,” he explained. “We do make an effort to involve them and let them be able to see what is really a great state to live in.”
These statements from the governor come just after he officially signed a piece of legislation back in April that sought to put more support in place for fathers and their kids by connecting men with career services and boys with mentorship programs.
This particular legislation is “tied to nearly $70 million in funding to provide a wide spectrum of family and youth support through the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) and the Department of Children and Families (DCF),” explained the governor’s office via a press release.
Kids do better when they have active fathers in their lives. Governor @RonDeSantisFL is doing everything he can to support fatherhood in Florida. pic.twitter.com/Nxev7nuzDD
— Team DeSantis (@TeamDeSantis) April 12, 2022
There are more than 18 million children in our country who live without a father in their home,” explained DeSantis at the time. “This has a severe impact on children, and often leads to dropping out of school, crime, and substance abuse. Incredibly, there are those who diminish the importance of fatherhood and the nuclear family – we will not let that happen in our state.”