Reply #60: Exactly...

[rainbow4321]

Even if they pay the CS, there is no emotional bond. The fleeing parent will pay for it in the end when their adult kids no longer want anything to do with them.

They do more damage to their relationship than the custodial parent could ever do through parent bashing, etc..
My kid's father (who does pay $$) went 6 months without talking to our youngest, then called her on her birthday (she missed his call and never called him back), then went another 6 months without calling her. He's even gone as far as to cancel any offer of visitation with his kids if any of them are going thru hormonal teenage years---not that HE tells them that they cannot go see him, he leaves that up to me. Kind of hard to explain why only **one** plane ticket arrives in the mail when there are **two kids**.
She no longer takes his phone calls when he does take time to call (Thanksgiving Day).. refuses to get on the phone. He instead talks to the oldest kid who is past the more difficult teenage years and invites her up to see him. No invite for the younger one.
He may be paying the court ordered CS, but, in my eyes, he is still a deadbeat for only wanting to interact w/ his kids when the restless, emotional teenage years are going on..just wants to fast forward to their adulthood. That's no kind of "Dad".