Divorce can absolutely ravage a family. And when the parents are at odds, kids usually get two sides to a very different story.
One mom on Reddit claims that her daughter is victim to this, as every time she visits her father he lavishes her with gifts (even though she claims he doesn't pay child support). So when the daughter asked to live with him, she agreed … but when she wanted to come back home, the mom wasn't so open to it.
"I divorced my husband Roger 10 years ago," she began.
"Since then, he's been nothing more than a Disneyland dad to our 16 year old daughter Ann. He got a really well paying job recently and bought a gorgeous house with a pool and a very nice car instead of paying back child support."
The times her daughter Ann was with him, she was lavished with gifts and attention.
"She'd been talking about moving in with him for months, saying how much fun she had at his house and how much she loved him," the mom wrote. "I could tell Roger didn't want that but was letting me be the bad guy by saying he wanted her there but I wouldn't allow it. After weeks of needling, I finally agreed to a one year trial period."
Unfortunately, one month into the trial period of living with her father, the daughter was begging her mother to let her come home.
"Now that Anne is with him full time, he isn't trying to impress her," she wrote. "He's only buying her dollar store face wash, along with dollar store shampoo/conditioner/body wash instead of her expensive preferred brands. He's strict on clothes, so he took her croptops and short shorts away and she can only wear things that go below her knees. He doesn't cook and needs to make house and car payments so instead of fresh homemade meals they eat dollar menu fast food items/frozen food every day."
The mom went on to say her room is totally empty because her father is a minimalist and never meant for her to stay full time. She also went on to explain that her daughter isn't in any danger, but she is living the lifestyle of a bachelor.
This is where things start to get messy. On top of all of that, because of school districts, she has to go to a new school too and really doesn't want to.
"She's begging me to come back, but I don't really want to let her," the mom confessed.
"Now that she's gone, I can afford new clothes and to fix up the house and just relax," she continued. "I don’t have to scrimp and save just to hear about her father would be able to afford nicer things. She wants to come home but I think since she wanted to live with her dad so badly she should stay there so I can relax for once."
Commenters were appalled at both of the parents in this situation.
"That poor girl trusted her dad and he played her," one user wrote. "But she's been there a month, so she gets the picture. It's time for OP to let her come home. If OP is really strapped for cash (as the last bit about how now she can afford things implies), she should sue the dad for all the child support he's missed."
People felt especially bad for the daughter and admonished the mom's childish behavior.
"I've seen people like this who have fallen for weekend dad syndrome and it does suck. I have warned people like this but I can't imagine as the responsible parent letting her be neglected as a lesson. Obviously she was unaware her Dad provided her a false narrative and she wanted to believe it because it was her father. Obviously she should have been nicer but how was she supposed to know she was lying to him and her mom was being truthful, when many parents become resentful after separation," one person commented.
"Now she is going to spend the last years before going off to college like she is unloved and OP would do that out of a sense of fairness," the person continued. "News flash: You were duped that he would be a responsible father long ago, and now she is finding out for herself. You chose an unreliable partner, and she didn't choose to be born, both of you have problems that you have to solve without it having been your fault."
All in all, this mom needs to step up for her daughter and let go of her bitter inclinations — or risk losing her.
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