Parenting is hard, but it gets way harder when spouses are divorced and not in a good relationship. This is what the story below is all about. A father and his ex-wife had shared custody over their daughter, 15. Everything was going fine, but the mother kept letting the teenager do what she wanted and bought her everything she demanded, making her the best parent.
Image Source: RedditShe had implied no rules for her kid in order for her to be the best parent, it seems. Still, the father wanted to teach his daughter habits and responsibility. Instead, the teen girl became estranged and stayed with her mother.
The father and his new family didn’t see her for years, but the dad kept paying for child support. Five years later, the estranged daughter wanted to get in touch, but the father pulled out a spreadsheet of all the money he spent on child support, and wanted her to pay it first as proof she didn’t care about money anymore.
His ex was furious, but he failed to see his fault, so he asked the people of Reddit if he was to blame. They had something to say, of course.
Here is how people reacted:
1. The father
This comment is as straightforward as it could possibly be, and there is no wonder about that. Some people get right to the point.
2. The daughter
This person has a point, and we cannot disagree. Family relations are something very important, but we think that any divorce was granted under certain conditions.
3. The behavior
We know that this father would probably need to realize that nobody owes him any money, as what he pays as child support is obligatory, not voluntary.
4. The trip
If your kid went on an international trip, then they are probably fascinated by all the surroundings and the new things they see. Nobody should expect them to text every hour or so.
5. The daughter
We guess that this is also a valid post, as it mentions a fact you cannot argue with: child support is not something that your kid is meant to return.
6. The blackmail
We know that the father feels hurt after his daughter didn’t return to him for years, but he needs to realize that part of all the fault is his, depends on how you look at it.
7. The joke
We know that this father was more or less jealous of the fact that his teenage daughter wanted to spend all her time with her mother.
8. The levels
Wow, this person appears to be greatly irritated by the story, and you can see how excessive this post is. There is no telling just how many people felt this way after reading the topic.
9. The person
We are not sure that one could easily call someone a bad person based on a post, but it seems that this is a plausible conclusion, given the details provided.
10. The situation
It seems that many people would also walk away if they were in the daughter’s shoes, and we also do not agree with some of the things the father did.
11. The loss
If this father really wants to reunite with his estranged daughter, giving her a spreadsheet full of expenses to cover is not the way to go, to say the least.
12. The kids
We are not exactly sure if people who don’t behave as they should begin to realize at one point that they were wrong for doing this or that.
13. The child
This user took their time to explain things in detail, and we guess that it all comes down to doing the right thing, whether you like it or not.
14. The treatment
This user implied that the father’s second daughter, who was younger, would probably decide to separate from him at some point for the very same reasons.
15. The failure
It is true that paying child support and being in a good relationship with that same child are two very different things, and the topic we discuss today shows why.
16. The penny
As they say, nobody owes you anything if you didn’t work for it, and this is what happened here. This father did not earn his daughter’s respect. You can set rules and boundaries in a respectful way.
17. The talk
No matter what happened in the past, this father should probably feel happy about his daughter wanting to reconnect with him, and never ask for his money back.
18. The controlling father
There is no doubt that grounding your kid simply because you thought she had to be more respectful for no reason at all is not the best way to raise a teenager.
19. The money
We guess that the majority of the people who decide to comment on this topic would mostly be appalled by the fact the father would ask for his money back.
20. The calculations
Now, this is one way to respond to such a topic, and we can all see this amazing level of sarcasm. We guess that this post is one of the best ones to share.
21. The fun
Most people would give the same piece of advice to the daughter: to get the money her father pays and to remain distant from him.
22. The strict dad
It is always a good idea to be strict and to teach your kid some lessons about responsibility and respect, but such a behavior is a bit excessive.
23. The shock
We are certain that most people would never try to reach out to their dad if they were in this daughter’s shoes, and we understand that position.
24. The minor things
Here are two important aspects of the story that this user kindly brought up to our attention. There is no doubt that what this person says is true.
25. The reason
Here is how one user decided to dig deeper into this matter. The user tried to figure out why there was a divorce in the first place. They are probably right.
26. The emotions
Teens are very emotional, so there is no doubt that this daughter decided to stay with her mother instead of spending every other week with her dad.
27. The law
We think that it already became apparent that nobody owes anything to no one here. The expenses this father talks about are his obligation by law.
28. The children
Being a parent means you need to take care of your kids without asking them to return the favor at some point. In case of divorced parents, this includes paying child support.
29. The responsibility
It all comes down to being responsible. If you have kids and you were divorced at some point, we guess that you need to pay whatever you must and never ask for it back.
30. The results
We believe that this father needed to step back at some point and try to analyze his behavior. He would have probably realized he was wrong too many times.
31. The supportive parent
It seems that there is nothing to wonder about the whole thing. The daughter made her own decision, although she was just a teenager five years ago.
32. The behavior
Nobody would put up with a person who tends to be a controlling parent, and his daughter probably realized that early.
33. The family
Many people have been forced to deal with fathers that were not role models, to say the least.
34. The daughter
It appears that there are even worse parents, like the ones who refuse to pay child support. This father at least paid his dues.
35. The kids
No kid out there should ever be forced to repay their parents for raising them.
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