Carolyn Hax: Be adults now to teach son how

Dear Carolyn: Our problem has many layers. Our 16-year-old son fathered a child. At this time, he does not have a relationship with the mother, who is also 16. We encouraged her to give the baby up for adoption, but we were unsuccessful. The baby is now 3 months old.

Here are our many dilemmas: Our son has no interest in parenting (he is not ready); we are in our late 40s and not really interested in being new parents again either; the mother would like us to have the baby from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

I can already feel resentment building. My husband and I don’t want to spend our entire weekend caring for a child. I need to unwind and get things done around the house, and we are enjoying some freedom with a son who is almost an adult.

I know it is not the baby’s fault, and I am not frustrated with him. My son obviously made an error in judgment and we are all paying the price. I feel like I probably can handle one day a week, and we are trying to set a good example for our son by being responsible. We feel that our son eventually needs to step up and be a father to this child, but I am concerned that if we force him to take care of his son, then he will resent his child. – Grandma too early

This is a one-layer problem: Your son needs to take responsibility for his child (DNA confirmed, yes?).

The rest are qualifiers, subplots and distractions.

One such subplot is the mother of the child. She overruled the father/the father’s camp and so she can’t expect to have weekend afternoons off. Call me cold, but just because the father should care for his child doesn’t mean the mother can expect him to care for his child, not after she acted unilaterally in her decision to raise the child. The moment she did that, it was on her.

Another subplot is your and your son’s stages of life. You’re at midlife and grateful for some freedom, parentally speaking, and he’s in his midteens, over-enjoying his freedom. Swell.

There’s an innocent baby three months into many years of dependency on the adults in his life, which means those adults have a duty to act like adults. Technically you can decline to take the child on weekends because you need time to pick up your dry cleaning, but morally you need to buy yourself a car seat and bring Junior along for the ride.

Sometimes. Your other moral obligation – the one you assumed when you had your son – is to raise a contributing member of society, which means you can’t stand conflictedly by while your boy chooses to contribute sperm and then nothing else. Baby Boot Camp is officially in session.

This training course will involve two grandparents fully and unequivocally accepting their grandchild into their home, hearts and lives – but not to let their randy son off the hook. Instead, they will be demonstrating proper child care, and respect, and prioritization, of a son for their son, who will be in attendance not because his parents applied thumbscrews, but because he will be gently reminded that you and his father did this for him and so he will do it for his child, too, if he intends to regard himself as a decent human being.

Rearrange your landscape to include your new family configuration, then call your son over to take in the view. Someday, son, this will all be yours. I’m thinking July.