fatherhood Archives - Mark A. Stephens

October 14, 2025

Every Boy Needs His Dad — But Not Every Dad Shows Up

Mark’s post says, “Every boy needs his dad.” True—but every child deserves a healthy parent who shows up and does the work. Mark has been absent, choosing distance, denial, delusion, neglect, and abuse—and still refuses to begin his required domestic violence and mental health assessments.

October 12, 2025

When “Living with Dad” Sounds Like Disneyland

What starts as the “fun house” can turn into a roller coaster that never stops. Children might say they want to live with the parent who offers freedom and fewer rules — but eventually, chaos becomes exhausting. They learn that real love isn’t about who makes life easiest; it’s about who makes them feel safe.

August 23, 2025

Zero Accountability: Mark’s Reel vs. Reality

Mark’s latest reel claims he’s being “pushed out” of his children’s lives, but the truth is clear: the court gave him a solution, the doctors gave him a solution, and he hasn’t taken a single step. Not one evaluation, not one recommendation followed, not even one message in the court-ordered communication tool asking how his kids are doing. His absence isn’t caused by others—it’s caused by his own choices.

August 20, 2025

The Illusion of Grit: Mark’s Sustained Effort to Look Like a Father

Mark boasts about grit and “embracing the hard,” but the only hard he’s embraced is sustaining his victim narrative. For nearly two years he’s posted endlessly about being wronged—when it would take less effort to actually be a good father.

August 18, 2025

Fun and Games Don’t Raise Children

Mark is nearly three years behind on child support, refusing to provide for his sons in any meaningful way. But the greater tragedy isn’t just financial neglect—it’s the spiritual hypocrisy that risks turning his boys not only against him, but eventually against God Himself.

August 16, 2025

The Work That Never Gets Done

The saddest part of this story is not that time has been taken from him—it’s that he has chosen to give it away. He was able to drive 36 hours round trip to pick up a dog. He was willing to sit at a graduation he wasn’t legally allowed to attend. He travels to play pickleball. Yet he cannot take the single step required to begin the process of seeing his children again. The pathway has been clear, but it remains undone. Not because it was impossible, but because he chose not to walk it.

November 30, 2023

Between Anger and Sadness: A Father’s Choice

We live in the space between anger and sadness—anger at the attacks and refusal to do the work, and sadness for two boys who deserve a father willing to choose them. He could travel for a dog or to play pickleball, but not for the one appointment that could start rebuilding trust. Maybe someday he’ll choose differently. Until then, our love for Nathan and Liam never wavers.