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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

No Father In The Home Is Better Than A Bad Father Letter Of The Week: From May 21

Criminals share many common factors, such as poverty and past abuse.

Regardless, criminals cause crime.

Parenting, Norman Nelson, is not a gender issue (“Fatherlessness breeds troubles,” Letters, May 15).

I, as a single-parent mother, set standards of behavior and enforce them. That’s my job as a parent. Setting standards and enforcing them is also my job as a teacher. It has nothing to do with being male or female.

My child and my students will respect me and follow the standards I set if I consistently demonstrate that consequences follow behavior. Such behavior on my part, on the part of society as a whole, will teach our young people to respect others as well as themselves.

Single parenting is the most challenging role anyone can face and I certainly don’t recommend it. However, in some instances no father is much to be preferred over having a bad father.

It is time for society as a whole to enforce standards of behavior for our young people and to provide support for people who fill such roles as those of parent and teacher. Kathleen Warring Cheney

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