We certainly can't, great post, Elicia! I largely agree, it's amazing how lacking either a mother or father figure can have devastating effects, and how positive gaining one can have.

I think the best example I have ever seen of this effect, is Mike Tyson. He was a very troubled kid raised by a single mother, then at the age of 14, Cus D'Amato found him, became his de facto father figure and got him into boxing. It was life changing, Tyson became a champion and was on course to becoming a good and wealthy man, but then Cus D'Amato died and Tyson fell off the rails and became the troubled kid again.

It's amazing how common stories like this are, if in our youth we lose our prime mother or father figure, and they are not replaced in some way, or we never had one or the other, or worse finally got one then lost it, it can have devastating effects – like it arguably did with Mike Tyson.

This is why I agree, it's so important to ensure that all children have an equal level of male and female influence in their lives while growing up, it's just so important!