If you do not have a relationship with the mother of your child, you might wonder whether to pursue paternity. If the mother wants nothing to do with you, you might feel that permits you to walk away without a second thought. Yet, there are significant advantages to establishing the paternity of a child.
How you feel now might not be how you feel in the future. Even if you consider the encounter and pregnancy a mistake, there may come a time when you want to get to know your child. If you establish paternity now, that will make it more straightforward in the future.
Most children want to know who their father is
Many children grow up not knowing who their father is. Many of them take steps in later life to find out. Even if the mother prefers you remain anonymous, you should weigh up how the child might feel growing up unsure about their origins. They may suffer from feelings of abandonment and wonder what made them so wrong that you wanted nothing to do with them. Establishing paternity may help them feel more at ease and make it easier for you to contact each other if you or they wish.
Getting registered as the parent of a child allows you certain privileges. It will make it easier to access information about them, participate in medical decisions and play an active role in their life. If you later decide you want to spend time with your child, seeking custody will be tricky if you are not the registered father.
However unsure you may feel, establishing paternity is often the best for you and your child in the long run. Going through life knowing you have a child you never got to know can be just as hard as growing up not knowing your father. The difference is that you can prevent that. Your child cannot.
