As absentee dads become more common, we often forget what a tremendous blessing we have in fathers who love their children and participate in their lives.

“Almost every social ill faced by America’s children is related to fatherlessness,” states the National Center for Fathering. Countless points of data and studies support the claim.

National Public Radio’s nprEd publication reports 24.7 million kids live in the United States without fathers in their lives. The Census Bureau finds 43 percent of children in the United States grow up without fathers in their homes.

“The growing number of fatherless children in this country poses one of the most serious problems in education today,” explains NPR, which also connects an absence of fathers to rising school dropout rates, poverty, suicide and crime.

We don’t need data and studies to prove the obvious: Kind, loving, responsible dads are an asset we cannot take for granted.

So on this Father’s Day, let us say thanks to dads, stepdads, adoptive dads, and men who help mentor other people’s kids.

Let us thank Dads for quiet, behind-the-scenes contributions never seen by daughters, sons or moms.

Thank the dads who fight for home and family against ever-increasing costs of living.

Good fathers lift our heads when we hang them low. They work and live selflessly, smiling through weariness and never forgetting to take time for what is important.

Good dads love with thankless sacrifice, enduring our anger and resentment and loving us more. They communicate by example, showing the importance of work and commitment.

We should thank our dads for little things, big things, and fond memories that keep them with us after they have passed.

Attentive dads let us rest securely in their love and strength. Thank you, fathers, for all you do to help society survive and succeed.