No parent wants to hear anyone else’s unsolicited parenting advice, but there are a few tips and tricks that should be universally known. Alas, they don’t give you a parenting manual in the maternity ward when you go home with your fresh little bundle of joy; however, we can all agree on a few major points, right? 

For example, parents should always love and care for their children, the best that they can.

Unlike a marriage, where you publicly pledge your love to someone else, promising to care for them and love them forever, there’s no pageantry for new parents. Unceremoniously, parents essentially bind their future with this little tiny human, unknowingly altering the course of their existence for all time. Yet, also unlike a marriage, the bond between a parent and their child is utterly unbreakable. Dads, therefore, should always support their kiddos, even if Mom has decided to jump into the dating pool again. 

Just because the mother of your child is no longer interested in being your partner doesn’t mean that you’ve relinquished the soul bond to the child you share. And this is why a story went viral recently on Reddit—a dad was conflicted over continuing to send his child support checks, knowing that his baby’s mama was spending the money on dates. You be the judge of this particular parenting dilemma…