There’s a specific kind of sting that comes from watching a parent prioritize a new family over the one they already have.

When a college student struggling to cover tuition watched her dad deny her any financial support and then announce he and his wife were deliberately expecting another child, the message landed loud and clear.

You’ll want to keep reading for this one.

AITAH? My dad is purposefully having another child, after claiming he couldn’t contribute anything to help me through college.

I (18f) recently started college as a freshman, and like any normal college student, have been struggling to pay for it.

My mom and stepdad have been helping me the most financially, and for that I am very grateful.

Her father, on the other hand…

The problem? My father and stepmom have hardly contributed anything and refuse to help me at all for the rest of the school year.

At first, I came to accept and understand this.

She always tried to be understanding of her father’s financial situation.

They’d recently had a baby together, and are still dealing with groceries for my two siblings and one of my step-siblings.

Although most financial help — even for the younger siblings — has come from my mom and stepdad, including clothes, school club costs, and field trip costs.

But I understood my dad and stepmom were in a bit of a financially tight spot.

They’d quit their jobs to pursue their dreams of building and selling houses for a living and haven’t quite hit the payout yet.

But when their family grew once again, she started asking questions.

But as of a few days ago, my dad announced my stepmom was pregnant again.

This was fully purposeful and not an accident. To put it in my dad’s words, they “weren’t NOT trying to have a baby.”

She didn’t quite share their enthusiasm about the new baby.

They’re thrilled, but I can’t help but feel incredibly hurt.

When asked why they decided to have yet another baby — despite hardly having the finances or time to take care of the first one (their construction project requires approximately 12 hours of work per day) — they claimed “bringing life is one of the most rewarding and natural things you can do.”

Which is… somewhat understandable.

But there are other parts she doesn’t quite understand.

But my dad is 43 and my stepmom is 45. They’re far past the age of safely having children, and it’s not like they’ve missed out on that experience.

Not only that, but here my father was — denying me any help towards college — when he was prepared to spend thousands on having an entire new human being.

Was the experience of helping me after eighteen no longer rewarding? When is the cutoff period for having a child not “rewarding” anymore?

This has led her to feel quite a few complicated emotions.

I just feel so hurt and abandoned. Like I don’t actually matter to him anymore, and that I don’t deserve any financial sacrifice from him.

AITA?

This father understands that having kids costs money right?

What did Reddit have to say?

It’s clear to this commenter that these parents seem to misunderstand the full scope of their responsibility.

This teen is right to feel betrayed as far as this commenter is concerned.

Eventually, her father is going to realize just what he’s gotten himself into.

This user shares some words of advice.

Welcoming a child into the world isn’t just an emotional investment — it’s a financial one too, and one you can’t just shirk when it’s convenient for you.

If you liked that story, read this one about grandparents who set up a college fund for their grandkid because his parents won’t, but then his parents want to use the money to cover sibling’s medical expenses.