Divorced Dads - advice
I’m a dad of a 2-year-old boy and he’s very attached to me as I am to him. I’m very involved in his daily life including playtime, bath routine, mornings together, about half of bedtimes. I would say during workdays this sums to about 50-60% of his awake time.
My wife and I are in no good shape and divorce is knocking on the door. I will not go into any details as they do not matter, but my biggest fear is my son.
I know that if we separate, I’ll see him less. The quality of time might improve because I’d be more rested and focused, but I’m scared the reduced time itself could hurt him or maybe even detach him from me? Or perhaps I'm scared for me mostly - like how to cope with seeing him less.
I grew up without a father, and my dad passed away recently. I did not shed a single tear for him until I saw him at the funeral. I felt sad for him, not for me - he was an alcoholic (abusive) and lost both my sister and me - I can't imagine what he felt during the past 25ish years - being rejected by your kids (Well I tried to talk to him couple of times a year or even see him once, but that's it. My sister on the other hand went no contact from her POV and the sad part is - my dad did not even tried contacting her directly, instead he tried through me or our mom. Anyway, perhaps I’m terrified of repeating absence, even in a different form.
I also worry about losing everyday moments like routines, spontaneous play, repeating random words I say. My wife says she wouldn’t block me from seeing him, but I still worry about how things can change once the divorce is in motion. She also agrees with me to let me come couple of nights a week to put him to sleep - which sounds positive for me.
What I’m stuck on is this:
- I know its worse for a kid to grow up and feel the tension between mom & dad, but what scares me the most is - is he going to be alright seeing me less? Am I going to be alright seeing him less?
Any POV will be highly appreciated as I'm in a truly dark place right now.
Posted Dec 30, 2025, 9:12 PM UTC