What is the name of your state? Missouri
https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?t=395842
People used to always tell Dad that none of this matters, and then I found the above thread.
Dad's been dealing with this for the 7 years he and Mom have been separated. Immediately upon separating, Mom started having the kids call the new boyfriend (now husband) "Daddy," and had the kids call Dad by his first name, or "Daddy (first name.)"
Dad has had talks with Mom about this, even recent as of October 2007, and her response was (taken directly from an email): "You had stated that the boys said John hits them if they don't call him Dad, and that they don't have to call them Dad. You are right, they do not have to call him dad. But if they want to, or have no problem with it, why do you?"
Btw, the story is this: one of the kids said, "John hit me and I told him, 'you can't do that, you're not my dad.' He hit me again and said, 'I'm still your dad.'" By hitting, Dad can only assume spanking... but who knows, Mom and new husband have a paper trail of DV in the household.
But back to the "Dad" issue...
Dad has never been comfortable with the idea of his children calling someone else "Dad," and Mom has always played it off like it wasn't a big deal. It's not like Dad was never around for the kids to not know who he was/is. Mom would always say, "I never encouraged them, they just did it by themselves." But she never DIScouraged it. Only in recent years have the kids started calling Dad "Dad," and not by his first name or Daddy (first name.)
The kids are now 10 (twins,) and they still call stepdad "Dad." As recently as a year ago, Stepdad is listed as in many areas of medical documents as "Father," and some as "Stepfather" in the "Parent" section, but Dad is not listed anywhere.
The maternal grandmother is listed as an emergency contact, and she lives out of state (so does Dad.)
Dad is going to court later on this year for his contempt motion. Should he even bother to mention any of this? There's a heck of a lot more to this story...
https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?t=395842
People used to always tell Dad that none of this matters, and then I found the above thread.
Dad's been dealing with this for the 7 years he and Mom have been separated. Immediately upon separating, Mom started having the kids call the new boyfriend (now husband) "Daddy," and had the kids call Dad by his first name, or "Daddy (first name.)"
Dad has had talks with Mom about this, even recent as of October 2007, and her response was (taken directly from an email): "You had stated that the boys said John hits them if they don't call him Dad, and that they don't have to call them Dad. You are right, they do not have to call him dad. But if they want to, or have no problem with it, why do you?"
Btw, the story is this: one of the kids said, "John hit me and I told him, 'you can't do that, you're not my dad.' He hit me again and said, 'I'm still your dad.'" By hitting, Dad can only assume spanking... but who knows, Mom and new husband have a paper trail of DV in the household.
But back to the "Dad" issue...
Dad has never been comfortable with the idea of his children calling someone else "Dad," and Mom has always played it off like it wasn't a big deal. It's not like Dad was never around for the kids to not know who he was/is. Mom would always say, "I never encouraged them, they just did it by themselves." But she never DIScouraged it. Only in recent years have the kids started calling Dad "Dad," and not by his first name or Daddy (first name.)
The kids are now 10 (twins,) and they still call stepdad "Dad." As recently as a year ago, Stepdad is listed as in many areas of medical documents as "Father," and some as "Stepfather" in the "Parent" section, but Dad is not listed anywhere.
The maternal grandmother is listed as an emergency contact, and she lives out of state (so does Dad.)
Dad is going to court later on this year for his contempt motion. Should he even bother to mention any of this? There's a heck of a lot more to this story...