Men Who Take No Interest in Their Kids

Today I gripe about men who throw their kids away. What gives a man the right to father children, play with their little minds, make promises to them that he doesn't follow through with, and walk away from the best things that he has ever done in life???

I mean, what makes these men tick? I have the two most beautiful children in the world, and their father has pretty much simply walked away from them. It's not like I got pregnant and he didn't want the kids... we were married and both wanted a family.

He goes months without seeing the children... makes promises to them about when he will see them, what he will get for them, things he will do with them... and then nothing. My second husband is essentially their father. He has taken on the role of Daddy, and both children look at him as such. In fact, after not seeing her biological father for almost a year (his choice, not mine), when she did see him, she wouldn't call him Dad until my husband told her it was ok and that she was special because she had two daddies.

He also does not financially contribute to their wellbeing whatsoever. Hell, he still tries to borrow money from me and has taken my son's social security check more than once for his own wants. I have a court order for child support, but they don't do anything to enforce it. Two years ago I wrote off over $12,000 in child support so that he would take care of the children while I was really sick and in and out of the hospital for a couple months.

It's not like I am hard for him to get along with either... I don't push for the child support... I don't try to withhold the children from him... In fact, I encourage him to spend time with them, and though the monetary help would be greatly appreciated, I would much much rather that he spent time with them and was there for them emotionally. I would write off his child support every year to keep him out of jail if he was there for them as a father-- if my kids could grow up and say that their daddy was there for them all the time and they could count on him.

Any of you absentee parents out there who neglect seeing your children think about this: one day you will have to answer to those children why you weren't there. You will have to explain why the bar or whatever was more important than those babies were. And someday, when you are old and dying, maybe because you weren't there for them, they will leave you alone as well to live out your last days with your regrets... Think about it. Just pick up the phone and make the call... tell them you love them. Take a day and do something with them. Hell, take an HOUR and do something with them! They are worth it and the time you spend with them will enrich all of your lives. There is no job more rewarding, and the benefits are awesome!