The life-long impact of absent fathers | Kent D. Ballard, Jr. | TEDxWilsonPark

Our Lord is my only father and the only one i ever needed.

If an invisible father wants to reconnect after 40 some odd years...how do you react or respond to that without being overcome with a tide of negative emotions and even hatred

My absent father just died hours ago that's why I'm watching this video. It really hurts because I will never get closure nor apologies from him. I'm still thinking if I should go to his wake or not. Thank you for this video, Sir Kent!

AHHH

I came across your video as I’m trying to help a member of my family get on the right track in raising his two children. He’s been somewhat physically present but hasn’t put his heart or mind into it. He basically has just gone through the motions but not put a true effort into his children’s lives. I may share this video with him as he was raised fatherless. I note from the background you’re possibly on the campus of the University of North Alabama in Florence, AL. I was raised in North Alabama (Decatur) and also graduated from UNA. Keep up the good work.

Growing up I had a peek-a-boo/hollow father until last year I decided to become an invisible son.

We must learn to forgive our Fathers because most of them didn't have outstanding Fathers,so is like a vicious cycle, I'm glad we are here trying to find solutions to break that vicious cycle.

My dad never showed up and has never paid child support. I’m 20 now. But Alhamdulillah Allah is sufficient for me.

3500 a year. Is dad making minimum wage. We can start there. We can make aliienation a crime. Hold woman accountable.

We have a a dad that don't like us and are mom hllpe us

My to brothers

I have a in side outside dad

This speech hit so many emotions I was suppressing for years, thank you.

I was literally going to kill my Dad because of past aggressions towards my Mother but understanding my Mom can be a b*tch sometimes makes me relate but not forgive.

Heh

A Therapist is too expensive so I will vent my problems in the abyss of the Internet. 😂

i cant believe that 70% of african american chidren grow up in a single parent home…. thats really sad😢

Don't agree entirely with him. Accountability? Yes I want to be in my daughter's life however I'm up against the mother and state. My crimes, none. There's societies problem.

Always seen myself as worthless ever since I found out my dad ran way when my mum got pregnant.

How many men died in WWll and left their children Fatherless, I am one

I am a Disney father to my 4 year old son, little George. I hope im healthy for years to come, it's s wonderful journey.

First he was hop scotch father, now since the past 10 years, he’s an invisible father.

My father left us for dead the night our mom got killed. I was 5 yrs old. Now fully grown at 22 yrs in the Army with 5 kids. I Love my life.

Well I strongly believe an absent father is preferable to an abusive one

Hu? So right off the bat, he gave the wrong definition for a "Disneyland dad."
A "Disneyland dad" is a dad who thinks taking a kid to Disneyland will make up for daily abuse or absenteeism. This means his entire speech is going to be confusing. Wrong definition, dude.

Fathers are useless. If your mother had enough money to sustain a family, you don't need your father. Even if you have a father, most of the time he acts like a ghost.

TIP: when you reach the legal age that you can leave home, do so without hesitation.

Your father didn't come, reflection was powerful, although the father of anyone will have their reasons. Was a great speech but when a child shames a father it makes the speech powerful but somewhat ingenuous after all the preaching. Respect the father is the key no matter what his personality until he has lost your respect via ultimately one form or another of disassociation, pressure or absence

He's alive but not in my life

Let's all blame the father for everything 😂

Thanks for this. It's something that definitely needs more awareness.

I remember crying trying to understand how it was possible that my father didn't love. I could never wrap my head around it.
Years later, same thing but some broken piece in me has been somewhat fixed when I look at the way my husband loves our child. I was not blessed enought to have that in my life but maybe it needed to happen so that I could choose a partner wisely. Despite all the pain, I'm okay with having to endure the hurt if it means my daughter will have her dad. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

I had an invisible Father … 😢

Inconsistent peekaboo to invisible dad. Born in 1991 Last time seen 2000 then 2016. Gave me his number took me a while to call ended up not working anyways. Said we’d hangout for new years completely skipping over my birthday which is 7 days before new years.

Sounds like he is speaking about me and all of us here that decided to click and face an issue of ours

The government encourages and incentivizes women to leave their husbands and destroy their children's lives.

The courts are the worst child abusers.

well done sir !!!

I had a hopscotch dad until I was ten when he died one night and it was so hard for me to come to terms with the loss

This video misses a MAJOR point and FACT… there was no mention of parents, primarily mothers, that purposely deny the father access to their child or children, with this fact being an epidemic in which the Courts and their clueless Judges fail to acknowledge and correct with serious repercussions. I haven’t seen my beautiful 5.5 year old son since March 6, 2023 (7 months at the time of this writing), due to an extremely malicious ex-wife where the courts have given her complete impunity from repeatedly denying access since 2018 with absolutely no form of repercussions! I love my son very much and have fought very hard to be with him, but it’s the same courts and useless biased Judges that have created this very situation that I’m in and keeping me from being with my son.

Children of disney dads are lucky, coming from the daughter of an angel dad

I had a great father, and i look forward to being just as good, if not better than my own. I look forward to finding a good woman and getting married. I look forward to buying a house with her and starting my family with a couple kids.

However, i am absolutely terrified at the prospect of what happens should things go south. Divorce is a horrific prospect. Not being able to see my kids on a daily basis, me being forcefully removed from my kids lives and replaced with a paycheck, and the unknown that is how to continue living afterwards is an extreme deterrent for everything i said prior. The fact that ive got a coin flip's odds of getting divorced and thus losing everything I've built over my life is something that really pushes me away from marriage, kids, the american dream.

❤

Oh man . What a great speech . How many identified , how many cried ?

I lost my father to a heart attack & have experienced emotional neglect from my mother. Self help books & therapists fulfilled their roles. From my experiences of being brought up in a fatherless household, I would say, No one will come & save you. You might see more people exploiting you than supporting you. The world is harsh. So heal yourself sooner than later.

Dad was physically present but emotionally absent, which CK didn't figure out until late in life.

If this true ur not a good person. Not defending him but that is sick.

Managed to create trauma when he was alive and also when dead... but I love my Dad - sounds confusing and complicated right? Yup that's was love is to me now😅😅😅

One thing I learned about being a fatherless man. You become who you hate, but when you forgive them for not being in your life you get your identity back off who you truly are, remember your dad is just a normal human .

I’ve always said this, there is no different to absent dad and a murderer. They both destroy lives.

Im tired, im going to take myself out.
Take care

Had a peekaboo father. Haven’t heard from him in 5 years. No matter when I saw him it made me happy.

WHAT ABOUT WOMEN THAT GROW UP WITHOUT FATHERS!!?? Why do people think women suffer less than men without fathers??!

The courts are collecting a lot of fees through child support.

The fatherless learn how to be leaders. Dead beats are dead beats and that's it.

Legalize prostitution!!