The Baby Daddy Brotherhood will hold out a hand to these boys who feel themselves in a vice, who thought their girlfriends were taking birth control steps and are as surprised as anyone when they find out they are going to have a baby. Sometimes their girls got pregnant on purpose, to give a purpose to their own lives.

Or, being a teenager, they didn’t think at all.

...It was her sister who found a Clearblue pregnancy stick in one of her mom’s drawers. It was positive. 

My babe’s next words brought me back to attention.

I’m the one, she said to me, who should be having a baby. Not my mom.

She looked at me. Let’s get pregnant, she said.

I’m not ready, I remember thinking. I’m just a kid….

Boys think that, if they say anything, things will be worse. Best to go along rather than make a fuss. This tends to not work out as they hoped.

How are these young men supposed to know what to do? They often are on their own. They are told to drop out of high school to earn money to support mother and baby—impossible since they have no diploma much less job training or college credits.

...Her dad was in that place where some quiet men go. Look out.

Do you think I’m going to support my daughter and your baby? His voice was loud. 

Well, no.

You need to quit school, get a job….

The Brotherhood will post information about custody battles, visitation, high school graduation options, job possibilities, and college opportunities. Grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends of these baby daddies—important to the child and the relations—will find problem-solving suggestions here as well. 

...I pulled out my grown son’s own baby book; it was crammed full of things. He got emotional just looking through it as he read the things I wrote. First time he crawled, walked, first word… He regrets not being there for his own boy. I told him that it’s nice to hear him say that. Maybe now it’ll get him to find a lawyer who makes sure he gets to see his child when he’s supposed to….

The bond between a father and child is a beautiful thing and needs to be preserved. It must not be discounted.

The Baby Daddy Brotherhood has taken its first step. Stay tuned.