Or maybe just encourage them to be in a relationship before they become fathers.
Ummm.. I WAS in a married relationship for 7 years before my ex decided she would rather be a Party-Girl than a mother.
I raised my 2 kids from age 2 and 6 until they graduated HS and beyond with zero help.
The women I dated usually had kids of their own and the thought of adding more to the mix simply didn’t appeal to me.
that, and I reluctantly admit that the part about diet, exercise and too many beers actually did play a part.
But my kids turned out fine. My son works with me in the family business and my daughter is finally finishing her zoology degree
Why assume that there was no relationship before becoming a single father.
For starters, single fathers who were not in a relationship willingly take on single parenting because the want the child and want to raise the child. They accept the responsibility that the mother will not or cannot take on.
Almost all single fathers I’ve known were married and became the single responsible parent when their wives died or dumped him and the kid(s).
In one case years ago a lieutenant in my squadron had his wife leave him and his son for drug use and he fought tooth and nail and spent a great deal of money to gain custody. He had a promising career and had just been promoted when the AF wanted to send him remote. Because he was an only child and his parents were deceased, he would have had to hand custody back to his scumbag ex wife because there was nobody who could care for the son for a year. He chose his son and resigned his commission.
The double stress of raising a young son and starting/maintaining a new career would be enough to shorten anyone’s life span.