This comment was by Steved on the post “Do Divorced Dads Get a Raw Deal?“

Haven’t seen my kids in five years. They live on one coast I live another. She took the kids then violated a court order and did it again. In the end I just gave up.  The best outcome I could see at that point was her in jail. The worst was much more troubling.

I don’t know how I got through the first few years but I did. At first we talked on the phone everyday but as time passed one and then other child didn’t want to talk to me. I can’t blame them. There was no real hope that we’d ever have a normal relationship. No other contacts (video, pictures, mail, email, gifts) were ever allowed. The kids weren’t allowed to talk about school, their friends, their health or anything of substance. Time after time calls ended in my ex screaming at the kids for telling me a secret I wasn’t supposed to know.

The courts can’t do anything about the real issues and if I push to hard we go back to square  with me worrying that the kids will get hurt. It would take years for me to build any kind of case and during the whole period the kids would be in the middle.

I’m actually glad the kids gave up, it just made things worse for them.

Photo credit: Flickr / Emilio Orantes