Teenage Tata: Voices of Young Fathers in South Africa

Teenage Tata: Voices of Young Fathers in South Africa was produced to provide a fresh and in-depth portrait of impoverished young South African men who became fathers while teenagers. According to the publisher, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC Press), it provides space for young fathers' articulate and impassioned voices to be heard amidst the outcry against the absence of fathers, and offers insights into young fathers' personal, emotional, financial, and cultural struggles as they come to terms with fatherhood. The study highlights young fathers' strong sense of responsibility; poignant accounts of emotional engagement with their children and the women in their lives; the motivating power of young fathers' own absent fathers on their parenting intentions; their desire for sex- and relationship-education from male family members, and their clear recognition of the help they need.

The book contains the following chapters: Part 1 - Studying Young Fathers in Impoverished Communities 1. What we know and need to know about young fathers and fatherhood 2. Designing and implementing an ethical phenomenological study

Part 2: The Voices of Young Fathers3. 'Scared, proud, excited, frustrated, stressed': Coming to terms with being a young father 4. 'Being there and providing; that's my job': Young fathers' perspectives on good fathering 5. Mothers, damages and 'her family': Influences, practices and relationships in the life of a young father 6. 'Spare wheels' and 'meat to meat': The meaning of sexual health for impoverished young men

Part 3: Conclusion and Recommendations 7. 'Knowing, working, talking and connecting': The crucial needs of young fathers