For fathers struggling with tough economic times, the recession often strains more than just the family's budget.

"It's not just the money, it's the meaning of it," said Matt Ringenberg, chairman of the social work department at Valparaiso University. "The family is more economically strapped, and that causes tension, but it is also the issue of the job being part of a man's identity, the thought that, 'It's my role to go out and work and provide for this family.'"

Jennifer Wojcikowski knows all too well how economic strains can impact the children.

"We definitely see an uptick in kids who have been abused when the economy fails," the senior director of development and public relations for Campagna Academy in Schererville said. "You have families on the brink and a lot of the time, the kids are unsupervised when their parents are struggling to make ends meet and are working more than one job."

In an effort to be pro-active, Campagna Academy began providing free parenting classes in April, but attendance has been sparse.

"Kids don't come with a manual and there is a pervasive attitude in our culture that you should somehow inherently know what to do," Wojcikowski said. "The attitude is that if you need help, you're a bad parent. We're not saying you're a bad parent. We're trying to make the job a little easier because it's the hardest job in the world."

Ringenberg said the loss of a job is "an ego blow to most men."

He suggests men try to talk it out, but admits that for most men, "it's not being aware of it to even seek help. It's not even on the radar screen."

"One thing women are most of the time better at then men are is finding a confidante to discuss their feelings with," Ringenberg said. "I think if we were more in the practice of doing that ... it would be beneficial. I'm not talking about a discussion of, 'I'm not sure how I'll pay the bills' but what does it mean to me as a person or man that I don't have a job anymore? Our tendency is simply to suck it up or push on."

David Cooks serves as facilitator for the 24/7 Dads parenting classes provided through the Lakeshore Responsible Fatherhood Alliance. He agrees it is crucial to have men serving as certified instructors.

"For a lot of our life skills curriculum, you really need that if you want the men to open up," Cooks said. "In our culture, opening up about your feelings, for a man, is discouraged so we have that barrier to get over."

One of the programs the Alliance facilitates is the Inside Out Dads Program at the Westville Correctional Center, which works with inmates on healing relationships with their children.

"It was so phenomenal to sit there and watch 40 men, all felons, preparing on the last day of class to send video messages to their kids," said Dennis Banas, a consultant to the Alliance. "You actually had those men dragging out, from Lord knows where, these family photo albums and weeping over them and terrified about what to say on the video to their daughters and sons. The support of the other men was incredible."

Wojcikowski said she works with young men at Campagna Academy to teach them about what it really means to be a father, given that many of them have not had a positive male role model in their lives to show them the right way to do it.

"Making a baby and being a father are two totally different things," she said. "Being a father is a lifelong commitment."