An uncaring local radio ad

THE EDITOR: In a local radio advertisement an incarcerated young man who was warned by his father about the company he kept calls his father – “Hello Daddy” – from a UK prison and explains his predicament.

His father, without a shred of compassion, tells him to be careful and “don’t drop the soap. Cheerio!” He ends the conversation by hanging up the phone.

The crude and uncaring attitude of the father suggests that he never understood the vital role of fatherhood.

Boys learn from their fathers without realising that they are doing so.

A family education website states that many adult men report that they either wanted to be “just like my dad” or wanted “to be his exact opposite.”

Fathers have a powerful influence on their growing sons, and it begins from the moment of birth.

After he has served his time and is set free from prison, I wonder if the young man would want to be just like his dad or to be his exact opposite?

The message in the advertisement is understood. But did it have to publicly paint such an uncaring picture of fatherhood?

HENRY HARPER

Petit Valley