Case Entry #3: Because I’m the Dad, I Wasn’t Meant to Care

31/05/2025

Submitted anonymously by a father in care proceedings.

🧍‍♂️ I Was Treated Like a Visitor in My Own Child's Life

Not violent.

Not missing.

Not absent.

Just a dad. And that was enough for them to treat me like a ghost.

I showed up.

I stayed calm.

I took notes.

They still said:

"We'll have to see if it continues."

I asked for mediation.

I asked for clarity on the paperwork.

I got labeled as "controlling the narrative."

I tried to change a nappy — they said no.

I brought a book — they told me "stick to free play."

They were about the version of me they expected.

She got services.

I got silence.

I didn't come to fight the system.

I came to be a dad.

But apparently, that's not allowed.