Broke father begged his ex to cut child support from $300 to $150, but she took him to court — the judge slashed it to $13.49 instead

Even the best co-parenting arrangements become strained if one partner refuses to show some level of flexibility or understanding towards the other. Barnett Jenkins (@a_train86n) took to Instagram on July 13 to share a "Child Custody" payment slip from the Illinois State Disbursement Unit. Jenkins explained that he had been paying his baby mama, Shaniquia Nichols, $300 a week, but after hitting a rough patch, he requested to cut the usual pay in half for two to three months. Nichols refused and filed for child support. Surprisingly, the court was on Jenkins' side, and Nichols ended up getting far less than what he offered. Posted on July 15, 2026, the video has gone viral since and hit 1.4 million views, 12,100 likes, and 2,727 comments.

No compassion shown

Jenkins explained in the caption that he had custody of his daughter three days a week. He was responsible for dropping her off and picking her up from school, and covered all her daycare expenses. During his good days, he would pay $300 a week, but since he was struggling financially, he asked Nichols to give him a few months to get back on his feet. During this time, he offered to pay $150. Instead of showing him some grace, Nichols took him to court. 

Court did the math

The court went through all the norms related to child support in Illinois, checked Jenkins' income, his parental duties, and the extra costs he covered for his daughter, and then set his child support fee to $13.49 a month, as per Men's Journal. Nichols hoped that the court would be on her side, and thought she would end up with more than $150 or $300, but the amount was far less than what she expected. Jenkins concluded his caption, "Well, it's official. I just made my first adjusted documented child support payment. 18 more years to go."

Child support disputes

Conflict between co-parents is one of the biggest barriers to successful child support arrangements. For instance, in Canada's 2022 National Family Law Survey, one in three lawyers (38%) said disputes over child support "usually" or "almost always" occur in shared parenting time cases. That's exactly the kind of conflict Barnett Jenkins says he found himself in after asking to temporarily reduce his voluntary payments.

Additionally, a UK government survey found that 40% of separated parents said a difficult relationship with the other parent prevented better co-parenting arrangements. Most U.S. states factor parenting time into child support calculations, meaning courts often consider how much time each parent spends with the child along with their income when determining support. 

 Baby mama humbled by judge

People in the comment section had mixed opinions. Some believed he was 'flexing' something he was not supposed to, while others agreed that Nichols got what she deserved. @thecamkilla wrote, "People who are saying this isn't a flex don't realize he's saying he's active in his child's life and doing his part. I'm sure the money will still be spent on the child, but it'll be directly from his end versus sending it to the mother." @prettie.goddesss commented, "See, I love when the baby mama gets humbled for trying to be greedy. If the father is active in the child's life, why do you need child support? More like support for you."

You can follow Barnett Jenkins (@a_train86n) on Instagram for more lifestyle content.

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