Now that the Mother’s Day-Father’s Day season is over, I think we can say that — overall — there’s a much bigger deal made of Mother’s Day than Father’s Day. Do we just appreciate mothers more? Or do we think dads don’t need the recognition? 

We ought to thank the fathers who raised us and the husbands who are raising our children.

It’s bad for the culture that having a father in the home is getting rarer, much rarer. The share of births to unmarried women stands at around 40 percent. Twenty-five million kids are growing up without fathers in the home. That’s also 40 percent .

An article published by the Institute for Family Studies bears the title “We Need Dads More than Ever.” Author Jason Carroll says, ”Too often as a society, we minimize the virtues and strengths of fathers and the unique role they can play in their children’s lives, despite the significant body of research that shows otherwise.”

Dr. Carroll, who is a senior fellow at IFS and the Family Research Director at the Wheatley Institute at Brigham Young University, points to research which “shows that most fathers are particularly skilled at fostering independence” as well as a reasonable amount of risk-taking in their children.

He describes the unique role fathers play in their children’s emotional development. He writes: “When fathers respond to children’s emotional distress, they are more likely to focus on fixing the problem than they are on addressing the hurt feelings.” He says this problem-solving response from fathers serves kids well as they grow up.

Involved fathers have a huge role in their children’s cognitive development. They tend to push achievement. Dr. Carroll says that, for boys, “the mere presence of a father in the home predicts less delinquent behavior.” They enforce discipline and set boundaries in ways that give kids a sense of stability.

Many moms manage to raise kids alone. But dads matter. A lot.