A child sits in a pitch-black room wishing he had a better life, wishing he were someone else. He is deeply depressed and in pain. His father was arrested and taken away from him again. The father is unable to find a good job due to his past mistakes and is forced to do hard labor. He cannot afford to support both his children and himself, so he chooses his children and is forced to move from house to house. He is now homeless and rarely sees his children. This is just one of a few unknown side effects of harsh enforcement of child support laws. While child support laws were created with good intentions and are indeed intended to help divorcing parents provide for their children, there are many cases where these laws cause more harm than good. Parents who are present and active in their children's lives should not be required by law to pay child support. Child support has become a growing problem in America, however it existed long before the development of the United States. The oldest known evidence of the idea of ​​child support can be traced back to 17th century England. The original purpose of child support was to ensure that parents who abandoned their children or divorced their spouses did not shirk their responsibilities to help provide financially for their children. Child support laws did not exist in the United States as federal laws until 1935, when the federal government decided to implement welfare for children and families with absent or deceased parents. Child support laws were not actively enforced until 1949, when New York noticed that too many fathers were abandoning their families and refusing to pay child support. As a result of this large group of unpaid fat... middle of paper... severe emotional and mental stress occurs. There are, however, more than enough cases where harsh child support enforcement has been more than necessary. However, in these cases the father has typically abandoned his children and refuses to assume his parental responsibilities. Works Cited Cashmore, Judy and Patrick Parkinson. “Children's Participation in Family Law Disputes: The Perspectives of Children, Parents, Lawyers, and Counselors.” Family Matters 82 (2009): 15-21. Academic research completed. Network. March 10, 2014. Cassity, Judith. Parents' obligation to support their children. Canada: Heath and Company, 1983. Print.DuCanto, Joseph N. “Defendant Child Support: Building a Federal Case.” American Journal of Family Law 27.2 (2013): 138-142. Academic research completed. Network. March 10, 2014.Lieberman, Joseph I. Child Support in America. Yale University, 1986. Print