A teenager has received support online after she shared in a social media post that she begged her grandparents to talk her father out of giving his newborn the same name as her.
The 16-year-old, who revealed her name is Serenity, shared in a post on Reddit that her father has shown little interest in her since she was born and the pair are practically estranged from each other.
“My parents were young when they had me. My mom didn’t have a family of her own and from about age 12, when she and my dad first got close, my dad’s family became her family. My parents dated all through high school school and they got me right after graduation. My mom died in her sleep when I was only 6 months old. She was 19,” the woman said online.
“My dad was never interested in me and he and my grandparents fought a lot from the time I was born until the time my mom died. They were disgusted by his lack of love or care for me. They wanted him to be a better father than he was and he obviously pointed out that my mum was the same age as him and had progressed. But he wasn’t interested.”
“I never actually saw him at all when I was little. I saw him for the first time from a distance a couple of years ago. He had some wife with him. Later they got married. Now they have a little girl and my aunt’s wife told me that they wanted to name their baby Serenity , what is my name,” she added.
The teenager went on to reveal that “as soon as I heard about it, I hated it” and that she decided to ask her grandparents to convince her dad to do otherwise.
“They talked to him, but he said he wanted his wife to be happy. I think both my grandparents hated the idea of him sending a clear message that he never loved me by just using a name for the child he wanted to raise. My dad is on eventually gave up,” the Redditor explained.
“His wife was a dick and blamed me even though he said my grandparents intervened,” she added.
Expert verdict: The teenager had the right to speak out
Kelsey Latimer is a licensed clinical psychologist and owner of KML Psychological Services. Latimer said Newsweek that the teenager did the right thing by talking to an adult she trusts about how she feels and that her thoughts and feelings are completely valid.
“I am deeply sorry that a teenager has experienced multiple significant traumas in her young life. Despite this, she seems resilient and seems to still be open to relationships with others. This is truly amazing and something to be proud of. It also seems that her grandparents always had her best interests at heart and I can tell she feels they love her very much,” Latimer said Newsweek.
“It seems to me that they would do anything for her that they think is in her best interest and that she will always be their priority. I’m so glad that she has that because every child deserves to feel loved and fully accepted. It seems to exist here is a sense of loss and abandonment that must be extremely disturbing.”
A picture of a teenage girl looking sad in bed. The 16-year-old has spoken out against her estranged father’s decision to name the child he is expecting with his new wife Serenity, which is also the teenager’s name. Getty Images
“I want all kids to remember a few things. You always have the right to feel what you feel, and you don’t have to apologize for those feelings. You’re also not responsible for the feelings of others around you, especially adults like them in a position of power over you—children are not responsible for the feelings of adults,” she added.
“The other person may not be happy and that’s not your responsibility; what your responsibility is to yourself and your mental health,” Latimer explained.
What do the comments say?
Since being shared by u/VegetableShine8843 on the social media platform on September 2, the Reddit post has been upvoted by 96 percent of users who have engaged with it and commented on it more than 500 times.
“You should be extremely glad your real parents had the foresight to see your biological father as a total jerk,” wrote one user, receiving more than 10,000 upvotes.
“What a selfish prick. Please don’t take anything his trashy second wife says to heart. It had nothing to do with you, but it always had to do with him. I hope you’re doing okay,” they added.
Another user shared: “I wonder what was wrong with dad. The grandparents and the rest of the family sound great.”
You can see the Reddit post here.
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Source: newstars.edu.vn