Angel Soft, the popular brand of toilet tissue just launched a new ad, a tribute to single mothers. The ad features heartfelt testimonials from people sharing their experiences of being raised without a father. Shockingly, they are just a fraction of the population with deadbeat dads. According to the National Center for Fathering, a non-profit dedicated to nurturing fathers to be their best, 20 million children live in a home without the physical presence of a father. Bump the stats-- this Father's Day challenge yourself. Despite the anger you feel towards your sperm donor here's five reasons why you should give him a call, shoot him an email or just thank God (or the universe) for his existence.

1. His absence made you stronger.

Let's face it, your dad's absence has made you the very person you are. It's shaped your experiences. It's taught you about struggle which is inevitable in life.

2. Your father is your father!

Regardless of how much you love and appreciate your mother, she is not your father. Do not wish her a Happy Father's Day. Your mother may have been alone in attending parent-teacher conferences, cooking dinner and taking you the doctor, but she wasn't alone in creating you. If you can't find anything nice to say to your dad, just say thanks for knocking my mom up!

3. You aren't the only one.

Not to be insensitive, but you are not the only person who's been raised by a single mother. It's not just a race or class issue. According to the Kids Count Data Center, as of 2013, 52 percent of the Native American population, a community often forgotten have been raised in single-parent households. Moreover, the legendary Bobby Brown has reportedly been known to be a deadbeat dad to his four children outside of his marriage to the late Whitney Houston. If you can acknowledge Bobby Brown as the Bad Boy of R&B, you can certainly acknowledge your father.

4. He feels terrible anyway.

As cliché as it sounds, forgiveness will heal your broken heart. It's his loss. You lived without a dad which sucked, but he has to live with knowing he wasn't around. Why make him feel worse?

5. You turned out okay

If you're breathing and healthy, you turned out okay. Forget the journal articles you've read by psychologists who say fatherless children are doomed to suffer with issues. Everyone has issues including children who grow up in two parent-households. have issues too. Many children witness domestic violence, verbal abuse and depression. Michele Weldon, an assistant professor of journalism at Northwestern University, writes in an op-ed for The New York Times "In the cases where the father is far from heroic - even abusive - his absence is also the absence of the chaos, anger, pain and disruption he would bring to his family" ... "The government itself sends the message that children need their fathers. But sometimes the absence is an improvement."

Tags
Father's Day