Dad stops paying child support for his 6-year-old daughter when his ex-wife starts using the money for dating, sparking debate in the comments about parental responsibility: ‘Be a man, support your kid’

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Oct 8, 2025 4:00 PM EDT

No parent wants to hear anyone else's unsolicited parenting advice, but there are a few tips and tricks that should be universally known. Alas, they don't give you a parenting manual in the maternity ward when you go home with your fresh little bundle of joy; however, we can all agree on a few major points, right? 

For example, parents should always love and care for their children, the best that they can.

Unlike a marriage, where you publicly pledge your love to someone else, promising to care for them and love them forever, there's no pageantry for new parents. Unceremoniously, parents essentially bind their future with this little tiny human, unknowingly altering the course of their existence for all time. Yet, also unlike a marriage, the bond between a parent and their child is utterly unbreakable. Dads, therefore, should always support their kiddos, even if Mom has decided to jump into the dating pool again. 

Just because the mother of your child is no longer interested in being your partner doesn't mean that you've relinquished the soul bond to the child you share. And this is why a story went viral recently on Reddit—a dad was conflicted over continuing to send his child support checks, knowing that his baby's mama was spending the money on dates. You be the judge of this particular parenting dilemma…

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    via Davidovich Mikhail

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • AITA if I stop financially supporting my daughter? I'm 35M and my ex wife is 31F. We mutually decided to break up. We have a 6 year old daughter. Since the break up,
    via Fabulous-Way2369
  • I've continued to care for and support her by sending monthly allowances, sometimes buying groceries and even personally delivering them during visits.
    via Fabulous-Way2369
  • Lately, my ex wife has been repeatedly asking me for money. When I asked what it was for, she said it was for our daughter's school and other needs. A friend of mine told
    via Fabulous-Way2369
  • me she's seeing another man, which I don't care about my concern is our daughter. The truth is, the money I've been sending has been used for her personal enjoyment, not for our daughter.
    via Fabulous-Way2369
  • I felt devastated, not for her but for our child. She has no right to use the money I send for anything other than our daughter. She also doesn't
    via Fabulous-Way2369
  • want me to take our daughter, saying I'll stop sending money if I do. AITA if I stop financial support and instead provided groceries
    via Fabulous-Way2369
  • and essentials directly to my daughter? I'm even considering taking full custody, even if it means going through the courts.
    via Fabulous-Way2369
  • Nice_Neighborho... Get formalized child support through the courts. You owe support for your kid whether your ex is with another guy or not. It's your kid. Not supporting your kid is an a h le moves. Be a man, support your kid
    via Nice_Neighborho
  • Mistyam ⚫ You're not going to get custody if you stop paying child support. But you should go to court to get a formal custody and child support arrangement in place.
    via Mistyam
  • Fickle-Map-8809 "I'm soo concerned that my daughter isn't receiving proper care so i think the best option is to withdraw every contribution I make to her welfare and instead
    via Fickle-Map-8809
  • drop off the occasional box of cornflakes! That makes me the good parent right? Because I'm soo concerned? Right?" Go for shared custody at the very least JFC
    via Fickle-Map-8809
  • Zestyclose-Height... odds are you are not paying nearly enough. child care is hugely expensive, it costs $500-$600 a month just to have the kid have her own
    via Zestyclose-Height
  • bedroom. and once they hit school everything costs more. you really need to go to court for a real support and visitation plan, because unless you have extensive
    via Zestyclose-Height
  • records of the funds you are paying, you could end up paying backdated support to the time you split.
    via Zestyclose-Height
  • HalfAgony-Half Hope ⚫ I'm so confused why men always think that if they give money to their ex, it should go directly on the kid. Your ex is already covering
    via HalfAgony-Half
  • housing, utilities, food, clothing, toys, treats etc for your daughter. Any payment you give is a contribution to those expenses. You're essentially paying her back for money she's already laid out.
    via HalfAgony-Half
  • Yes, YTA if you stop contributing to your daughters financial costs.
    via HalfAgony-Half

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