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Topics: Parenting, Sex and Relationships, Money
Emily Brown
A panicked mother has considered suing the family of a boy who got her teenage daughter pregnant and refused to 'own up to his share of the responsibility'.
The mum shared her story in the hope of receiving some advice after her 16-year-old daughter got pregnant at a party.
Writing to Kidspot's 'Advice Needed' section, the mother explained that the party 'shouldn't have happened' in the first place as took place during coronavirus lockdowns.
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But not only did the party take place; the mum also claimed that the boy who was likely the father of the baby was 'not owning up to his share of the responsibility' afterwards, when her daughter found out she was pregnant.
The mum said that the boy's parents were also failing to help, and as a result her family was 'going to struggle to raise another child'.
She explained: "I feel that we should sue the other family, since it is their responsibility too, or at least the parents who allowed the party to happen."
According to the mum, her husband wasn't on the same page as he thought the legal action was 'unnecessary'.
However, she added: "I feel hard done by for my daughter."
After reading the mum's story, Kidspot's Laura responded to point out that suing the family 'wasn't going to solve' the mum's anger or frustration.
"It's actually to get expensive, more frustrating, stressful and is 100 percent not what your family needs right now," Laura added.
Instead, she advised the mum to be supportive of her daughter and seek counselling if she needed extra help in dealing with her emotions.
She added that it was 'natural' that the boy might want to run away, and suggested that a 'big sit down with the other parents' could be useful.
"I would offer to get them a paternity test," she added. "Regardless of how he feels, if that baby is his, he has to pay child support. Furthermore, assuming you live in Australia, you will know we are fortunate here, and there is lots of financial support and assistance for mothers, especially young and single ones."
As for the daughter, Laura advised having a 'serious conversation' about her future and stressed that she shouldn't 'force [the] child into having a relationship with this boy or getting married'.
"I hope you both find your way through this challenging time and skip those lawyers and use that money on a relaxing spa day (or 20)," she added.