We Told Dad No — Then He Gave My Kid an iPhone

My dad’s gambling addiction strained our relationship, and we cut off his borrowing. Furious, he left, but a week later, my eight-year-old daughter came home with a new iPhone from him. Checking it, I found a chilling photo of her sleeping, taken outside her window at 2:17 a.m. Shocked, I confronted him at his run-down apartment. He dismissed it as a grandfather’s affection, but I noticed my grandmother’s gold watch missing from my closet—likely pawned for the phone. We filed a police report, not to jail him but to set boundaries. Weeks later, a

package arrived with the watch and a remorseful note from Dad. Soon after, he was found unconscious, malnourished, but alive. At the hospital, he apologized, broken. We enrolled him in a recovery program. Despite relapses, he improved. Six months later, he attended my daughter’s soccer game, staying distant but present. Supervised visits followed, with therapy and apologies. He’s not perfect, but he’s trying. My daughter kept the iPhone, heavily monitored, and now FaceTimes him. Boundaries aren’t abandonment; they’re love with limits. Second chances, with guardrails, can heal. If you’ve faced this balance, you’re not alone.