Not With Mom

[MontyCountyMale]

My daughter's mother was very absent from her life, for no good reason, during her first two years. My daughter is now 3 years old. My daughter has lived with me since. The mother and I are not married.

Now the mother is starting to feel like she wants to be more of a mother, so she is demanding more time with her. She demands her time, however, without any regard as to how our daughter feels about it. Whereas my daughter might be OK, spending a few hours a day with her, the mother insists on 3-4 day stays with her. She takes OK care of her while she is there, but neglects some of the more basic duties like bathing her and brushing her teeth.

At the same time, since we live about 20 miles away from the mother, she feels now like I may be trying to keep them apart, which is not true. I have always tried to be supportive of the mother's personal development. I'm getting some tense signals from the mother now and am afraid she may want to sue for full custody. But my daughter does not even like her. Does she have a case against me?

[Xena]

My daughter's mother was very absent from her life, for no good reason, during her first two years. My daughter is now 3 years old. My daughter has lived with me since. The mother and I are not married.

Now the mother is starting to feel like she wants to be more of a mother, so she is demanding more time with her. She demands her time, however, without any regard as to how our daughter feels about it. Whereas my daughter might be OK, spending a few hours a day with her, the mother insists on 3-4 day stays with her. She takes OK care of her while she is there, but neglects some of the more basic duties like bathing her and brushing her teeth.

At the same time, since we live about 20 miles away from the mother, she feels now like I may be trying to keep them apart, which is not true. I have always tried to be supportive of the mother's personal development. I'm getting some tense signals from the mother now and am afraid she may want to sue for full custody. But my daughter does not even like her. Does she have a case against me?

Are there any custody orders at all yet?

If not, YOU can file for custody and a set visitation schedule.