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The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.
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This is what one dad has agonized over while trying to be a better parent to his 14-year-old son. He only found out about his existence when he was six and proceeded to spend the next five years having minimal contact with him while paying child support. At his son's request, they then began spending more time with one another.
Over this time period, his son had gained a stepdad and stepsiblings alongside his mom, and the father was led to believe that this home environment was not the best place for him. As a result, he began ‘bribing’ his son by adding some improvements to his house in the hopes he would want to spend more time there and maybe move in. He wondered whether what he was doing was wrong after his son's mom argued with him over this behavior.
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Most people thought that he was just trying to make things right.
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Absent father doesn't spend time with son for 11 years, worries he is trying to bribe him into living with him when he is 14: 'His stepdad treats him worse than the other kids'
You only have to have a short conversation with any therapist to realize that there are a heck of a lot of parents out there who are not particularly good at the job of parenting. There are plenty of ways to screw up a kid, and not all of them enable a redemption arc as they get older.
Still, often being a truly reformed parent is better than a child having no parent at all. This can be especially true in the case of families where fathers were not aware of having children until later in their lives. While there is no guarantee that a surprise kid will suddenly turn a man into a model father, those who actually make the effort can have something to offer. It may not be an easy situation, but it can be made easier with the help of a positive attitude and some thought.
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