One day, my 15-year-old son Zach texted me from school, asking me to pick him up—something serious had happened. When he got in the car, he barely looked at me, his hands trembling. I asked if he’d gotten in trouble, but he said, “It’s not about me. It’s about her.” That’s when I learned that Zach had become a dad.
His girlfriend had left the hospital without signing the discharge papers for their newborn daughter, so Zach, barely able to care for himself, had signed them. At first, I thought he was joking, but he was serious. Despite being young and inexperienced, Zach was determined to care for his daughter because he didn’t want her to grow up alone.
We contacted social services, who told us Zach couldn’t do this alone. But he insisted, saying, “I’m ready.” Over the next…