Dear Prudence,
My 24-year-old son has a daughter from a one-night stand that he refuses to be a part of her life. He feels the mom is “crazy” and will ruin his life. In the beginning, he expressed a desire to very much be a part of her life and even had the soon-to-be mom stay with him for a while. Then she returned home and he became involved with someone else.
Now he completely refuses to acknowledge his daughter, who’s now 3 months old, and gave me an ultimatum that either I could have a relationship with him or with her. I believe strongly that babies need both parents and it’s his responsibility to be a dad. His dad has convinced him this woman will ruin him and have him locked up every chance she gets. I decided that I wanted to be a part of my granddaughter’s life and now both my children refuse to have a relationship with me at all. Was I wrong to want to be a part of my granddaughter’s life? I felt extremely guilty being involved and am essentially miserable over the entire situation. My granddaughter’s mom is allowing me to see her and keeps me updated on a regular basis. He thinks I took her side because I see the baby. He feels it’s my fault that she is seeking child support. I have always been extremely close to my kids and I’m devastated.
—Broken-Hearted Mom