How would you respond if you found out you had to raise a 13 year old you didn't know?

Hopefully not like this guy.

First time Redditer, manup_suitup, caused quite a stir recently when he asked if he really had to take care of his teenage son.

He says at age 16 he conceived a child with the girl he was seeing at the time. She kept the baby and he had no contact with her or the child.

10 years later he reconnected with her and met his son. Since then, he has seen his son only once more.

Now, she says she’s not able to care for their son any longer. She’s seriously ill and has no support. She wants manup_suitup to step up and finish raising the boy.

But manup_suitup isn’t quite so keen.

“There are a few problems with this. I love my life, I have a great job, a nice car and a nice apartment in the city. I’m living the life of a bachelor, and I never honestly thought of myself as a dad. If I decide to take him in, I would have to explain to my friends and family that I had a sin this whole time, that I never told anyone about. Also, I don’t really know him, and he doesn’t know me.”

Guess what, manup_suitup? That’s just too bad.

Responses to the post ranged from,

“is this for real?”

To

“In the event you are not a troll, when we have sex we are taking the chance that we might reproduce, and thus are responsible for the consequences which may or may not include offspring.”

To

“reading this has got my blood boiling. You know what you need to do. This is your flesh and blood. You never asked for him (an awful thing to say) but you MADE him and you need to take responsibility for your actions. This is your chance to potentially save him from foster care, which is god awful. I understand that you’re freaking out but you need to grow the f up and do the right thing.”

It didn’t take long for manup_suitup to get the idea though.

“I was a dumb kid and I bailed yea. Then her parents moved her away and I wasn’t even forced to take responsibility. So I was allowed to fool myself into thinking the child was never had. Years later I was let off again. And now, I am finally stepping up. But it’s too late to be a dad. I will be a mentor. I can do that much. I can teach him to drive, and how to talk to girls. There is a private school right down the block from me, I can send him there. I don’t want to sound too full of myself, but I can give him a better life than his mother ever could, thanks in part to her letting me off. I think this is also a way for me to pay her back. If she didn’t do what she did, I wouldn’t have been able to graduate with honours, or have the career and life I do.”

A refreshing turn around, and one that manup_suitup should be applauded for. We really hope it all works out.

How would you deal with the news that you had to care for a teenager you barely knew?

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