Unless the baby's father is physically dangerous, consider how he might be involved in the life of your daughter's child in some way. With your pregnant daughter, talk about three categories in which the baby's father could be involved:
1) Engagement with their child: direct interaction with their child. For example, will the baby's father participate in caregiving tasks, such as preparing food, feeding their child, putting the child to bed, and playing with their child?
2) Availability / Accessibility: the amount of time that the father is available to the child for interaction and the amount of time that the father is accessible to the child, for example, nearby but not interacting with the child.
3) Responsibility: taking charge of meeting the child’s needs for supervision, basic welfare, and health care.
You may find it helpful to read the chapters “Where does the baby's father belong in all this?” and "The importance of a father" in our book “How To Survive Your Teen’s Pregnancy“.
If the baby's father will absolutely not be involved in the child's life, who in your family will pledge to be a substitute father? If no one is available or able to make this commitment, would adoption into a man/woman married family be beneficial to both your daughter and her child?
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