Over the last few months, I’ve been dealing with a virtual epidemic of irresponsible, immature, and dysfunctional parents. That may sound harsh, but please read on and see if you agree.
Recently, a family with whom I have counseled found themselves back in family court to settle a dispute over unpaid child support. After a very acrimonious divorce and custody battle, the mother was awarded physical custody of the children, and a visitation schedule was settled upon that kept the father quite involved in the children’s lives. As far as access to the children and an ongoing relationship with both parents was concerned, things were working out very well.
However, after just a few months, the father became very inconsistent in his child support payments, and just a few years into the arrangement, he was now over $10,000 behind.
During the court proceedings, it came to light that shortly after the divorce the father had purchased a very expensive, highly accessorized SUV. And although he claimed financial hardship as a reason for the non-payment of his child support, he was quite proud of the fact that not once had he ever been late with his car payment.
I wonder if it has ever occurred to him that priorities like this speak volumes to his children about love.
Now don’t think I’m just bashing the fathers here… I’ve been running into some mothers that are real doozies as well. Stay tuned for my next post.
