Here are some YouTube videos about being a responsible father.
Obama makes some excellent points about the necessity of a caring father to be a child's life (and that's true whether you like Obama or not).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C6lQkkBa7I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRJBkoq1DXs
And please also check out the National Center for Fathering's website:
http://www.fathers.com/
I now have a daughter. Although she is not my biological daughter, she looks similar enough to me that everyone assumes that is indeed my biological daughter. She follows me around like a magnet and is very, very attached me. I chose to bring her into my life and do not regret it at all. She is so close to me that she feels like a real biological daughter. Thais even say that it's because she might have actually been my daughter in a past life, and they literally mean it because Thai Buddhists believe in reincarnation.
Many guys my age are still going to clubs and living the carefree adolescent dating life. I'm 26 with a 7-year-old daughter and a somewhat older but compatible partner. We have already spent about a year and a half together. We have no regrets at all, and are thankful for each others' presence.
I think of things this way: I am living life WITH my child. We do things together and are creating a life story together. Our interests do not compete with each others'. For some folks like Winston, that would be the case. But I guess I'm hard-wired to be more of a nurturing type.
I taught her how to ride a bicycle, and now we go bike riding together every afternoon after she comes back from school. We go swimming together, watch videos together, play Pokemon together, joke together, and eat together. She is my best friend. I am her best friend. No way she is just a burden. I found that fatherhood brings me far more joy than philandering.
It's only slightly more expensive to raise a child in Thailand than in the Philippines. I send my daughter to a private school and pay for her elementary school education, which is about $500-$600 USD per semester, and am proud of it. I could have chosen to send her to a Thai government school where tuition is free, but those places provide low-quality education that would stunt my child's mental and intellectual development.
Unfortunately, a significant proportion of Thai parents are not very nurturing, although my girlfriend / common-law wife is definitely not one of them. They have a very laissez-faire approach to childrearing, providing minimal supervision and mentoring. My family is thankful that they have me as an above-average nurturing husband and father.
For some people like me and Marcos Zeitola, it's the right choice. For others, it's the wrong choice.