Spiteful Parents

What type of person uses his/her child against the other parent? One that obviously doesn't care the emotional welfare of his/her child. I so often hear a custodial parent threatening the non-custodial parent to not let him/her see the child again because they are mad that he/she has someone new in his/her life, or maybe the non-custodial parent has asked for joint custody, or maybe the custodial parent just wants to use the child to bribe the other parent for money. Whatever the reason, it is a horrible thing to do to a child. It's hard enough on a child growing up in a single parent household without having to watch his parents argue and even worse not being able to see the other parent due to spite. As a product of a single family home, I've always wished for a father who cared enough about me to fight for me. Women who have children by men who actually want to see their children and participate in raising them , should be lucky. There are so many dead beat dads (and moms) out there. Children deserve to have both parents in their lives in order to become healthy productive adults.

Spite and vengeance are dangerous emotions. They lead people to make selfish decisions that hurt others. Many of us wish we had the foresight not to procreate with the mother/father of our child(ren). Hindsight is 20-20. If only we knew how evil, conniving, and selfish they were; of course, there are usually signs we just choose to ignore them. Our children look to us to see how members of the opposite should interact and if we act petty and selfish and vengeful, our children will grow up to think that this is how adult relationships work. Then when you're older and hopefully wiser, you'll wonder why your child turned out the way he/she did. It's time parents stop using their children as pawns. They deserve both parents, so get over your baby daddy leaving you for another woman or seeking joint custody. If he is a good father, acknowledge this fact and work with him to teach your child the values you want him to have throughout life. Stop being bitter and be the bigger person. Put your child first.