Strangers help single dad seeking advice on how to support his daughter through her first breakup

Being a single parent might require a lot of it while raising children all alone. One dad wanted to make his daughter feel better and help her out after a really rough break up so he educated himself by asking strangers for advice. These strangers on Reddit understood the assignment and delivered many helpful suggestions. On the subreddit r/Parenting, u/Al72070912 shares, "My little girl (16 female) got cheated on by her first boyfriend and I don’t know how to help."

Supporting someone young who has gone through their first heartbreak could be a task. He is a single father. He writes that his wife died 11 years ago, that he hasn't dated since, and that he is confused about his current situation. His 16-year-old daughter was cheated on by his 17-year-old boyfriend. "Needless to say my baby is in a very bad place. I know this was bound to happen one day but I am not ready or equipped for this. I have zero dating experience or relationship experience relating to this. I’ve only had two partners and one of them was my wife," he explained. 

It is hard for him to see his daughter cry so he attempts to comfort her but he asks if there's something more helpful he could try. "I did my best to comfort her which she allowed me to, she also requested if she could have an STD (sexually transmitted diseases) test which I took her to have. Now, she has barely eaten, barely leaves her bedroom and doesn’t want to talk to anyone. I got her her favorite snacks, and things she would enjoy I know it’s not much but I don’t know what to do to make it all better."

Reddit users had some good advice in store. "Don’t feel bad if you’re speechless and don’t have anything to say. Just hold her and let her cry. Maybe bring a cold washcloth to put on her face so the swelling can go down," advised u/bakedapps.

"Aside from all the comforting stuff...I think it's really important to reassure her this is absolutely not normal behavior from a partner. This experience will be extremely detrimental to her ability to trust anyone if it's not broken down into a digestible narrative. I think it's very important to show her lots of models for loyal relationships possible from now to adulthood while keeping it as natural as possible. Cheating is unacceptable and not "normal" behavior. She needs to see that healthy relationships are real and possible to get over this," suggested u/shabamboozaled.

"Maybe give her a day off school tomorrow. When you get home bring pizza and ice cream and some of your and her favorite movies. And watch them with her and just let her cry it out. Or just go to her room right now to check on her give her a hug and remind her that you're always there for her if she needs to talk and that you love her a lot. There’s not really much you can do. But I am sure her knowing your there and you love her will help her some. Other than that just give time," added u/noonecaresat805.

The suggestions were indeed helpful. He also updated his original post, explaining that he spoke with his daughter, took her for an STD test, and scheduled a therapy appointment for her. He explained that because he is a doctor so "pregnancy and STD tests were going to be covered anyways, she knows this of course which is why she knew she could trust me with this." He also added, "I didn’t expect such a response. In the meantime, we’ve made plans for this week to keep her occupied before the holiday that she’s been looking forward to. Hopefully, after that, she comes back home with more peace in her heart."