Today being "Fathers Day" is an ideal opportunity to bring up once again the travesty of "Child Support Payments".

I shudder when I think of the number of young men being ripped-off by unscrupulous ex-partners, and who have little or no redress, when around 36%? of their income is automatically deducted from their weekly income by Government Departments to pay for the support of a child, without there being any DNA proof that the child
is the paternal child of the financial "victim".

It is heartbreaking to hear of so many young men who start off in life by getting a job, but make the age-old mistake of entering into a relationship with a woman, inevitably finding later the woman is pregnant, places his name on the Birth Certificate as the Father in good faith, but then for a variety of reasons the relationship fails, the couple separate, and then the young man hears that whilst he was away working, his ex-partner was "entertaining" other young men, casting doubt as to the real paternity of the child that he thought was his.

At this time a DNA sample should be produced determining the paternity of the child in question, but invariably the ex-partner refuses to submit the child for a DNA test,(knowing of course that the ex-partner is NOT the paternal father of her child) The Government Department has no sympathy for him,(they are out from under as the ex-partner is supporting the child).

The crux of this message is that ALL babies born in this country should be DNA recorded at birth, to prove paternity, also to ensure that DNA history can available to investigate possible later medical problems.

Young men should be advised that they should not attest to paternity until a DNA certificate is produced proving same, that way young men will avoid being victimized by financially opportunistic young women.

There is NO excuse for any woman to become pregnant in this day and age. nor is there any need for a man to be held responsible for the upkeep of any child that is NOT his.

Crackup, there is no way I am getting into an argument re the child support payments, as I believe that is an argument between the men involved and the Government officials. Most of the Government are men, so why aren't they listening?

"There is NO excuse for any woman to become pregnant in this day and age. nor is there any need for a man to be held responsible for the upkeep of any child that is NOT his."
I totally agree with this statement though. If men don't want to become fathers, then they should either abstain from sex, or else diligently use condoms correctly every time they have sex.
If they don't do this, then they need to be prepared to pay the price.

Surely if a man is not sure a child of his partner is his, this issue needs to be resolved long before the breakup of the relationship? Why are these men only questioning their parentage when they are rightly asked to contribute to their children's care?

Oh, I forgot to add Happy Father's Day to all the Dads on this forum :)
Cheers,
Suse.

//The crux of this message is that ALL babies born in this country should be DNA recorded at birth, to prove paternity, also to ensure that DNA history can available to investigate possible later medical problems.//

Setting up a national DNA database like this is so very 1984, and opens up the potential for all manner of abuses. I think it'd just be better to issue court orders mandating paternity testing in cases of disputed paternity. A lot of fathers might have no question as to whether or not they are the real father of their child and not want their kid's DNA on some register where Big Brother can go sticking his increasingly obtrusive nose.

I'm sorry but I just can't see how this situation would effect that many, and if it did, then these guys really have made a poor choice of partner.

While on the subject of child support, firstly I agree that proof should be mandatory if the mother (or father) want finical support. Secondly, all child support should be paid into a government controlled fund and ligit receipts souks be taken to Medicare for a refund as this would stop the waste and a dress the constant argument about where the money goes.

I have a family member whis just gone through it and his ex has screwed him over big time, in fact, she makes a sport out of it.

Any time the kids have an appointment, doctor, dentist, she makes sure it's during his limited time.

All I can say is I warned him she was a bitch before he married her twenty odd years ago.

"..entering into into a relationship with a woman" is where the mistake first occurs. They pick the wrong woman. When the initial frenzy of regular rumpy pumpy tapers off, and one or more little victims of poor choice are born, it's all over - but there is still responsibility for the kids you see only fleetingly from then on.

This regular conversation would not occur if blokes thought with the thing they were given to think with, and not the thing that got them into the situation in the first place.