Be honest, if possible stay non-committal on anything that could be negative, but dont ever lie by omission or by outright hiding the truth.  Try not to speak negatively of him, maybe one day she will develop a relationship with him, and regardless of how he left things with you, her relationship with him needs to be uninfluenced by outside opinions.   

This is what I try to do, it is hard, and it means using language to my advantage so that I can honestly say I never lied and never spoke badly two things which can be conflicting on occasion.  lol

Peace
EF.x

hi, tell your child the truth, sorry for being so blunt but as a mother of 3 (aged 6,4 & 20ths)whos father walked on us 2 months ago i strongly believe in the truth.

You don't tell her her daddy didn't want her darl.  My son's father was the same took of before he was born and didn't want to know him once he was born.  The best advice i can offer you is to just be there and let her make her own decision as she grows older.  She will end up respecting you a lot more if you did.  No matter what we think of these men its still not up to us to force our thoughts upon our kids.  After all its not their fault they have the fathers they have.  You enjoy your time with your beautiful daughter this whole experiance will bring you both closser as she gets older.  Your a great mum already and that's all our kids need.  She's a very lucky little girl i think.  Keep a chin up darl it will get easier i promise you

Hey hun,

I'm in a similar situation and I was given a childrens book called "Do I Have a Daddy?" Its a About a Single-Parent Child by Jeanne Warren Lindsay Jami Moffett

its basically a conversation starter and in the back there is a section for the parent. Its REALLY good, my book was bought from ebay.

Hi,

I wouldn't ever say that her dad didn't want her... No matter what your feelings are towards her father, he is still her dad, and she will always have an idealised view on him as he is not around for her to see what he is like for herself... When she gets older, he may want to see her, and then she can see for herself what he is like...

My elder son's dad and I split up when I was pregnant with him, because he didn't want a baby either, and he had another woman on the side,  and so when my elder son used to ask where his dad was I just said that he was very busy working a long way away, and it takes a long time and money to get here, and when he isn't so busy he will be able to come and visit... Now that my son is nearly 12 I have been able to tell him a bit of the truth, and I just said to him that when I was pregnant his dad and I stopped loving each other, and that his dad was scared of being a dad, but we both love him (my son) and just because his dad and I don't love each other anymore doesn't mean we don't love him... His dad wanted to start visiting him when he was about 5, and sees him every school holidays now, and my son sees for himself what his dad is like... I don't think it is right to badmouth children's parents as I think it will end up backfiring on you when they get older...

Right now i tell my DD her dad works away and cant visit.  (last i knew he was in perth so i show her a map of where we live and where he is and how it is far away)  and when she is older (she is 4 now)  i dont know  i guess that ill tell her the truth, he didnt know how to be a father but its not her fault. And ill jst reassure her its NOT her fault.

Personally I wouldnt say the whole "daddy didnt want you" thing until you knew she was emotionally old enough to understand that. When it does come to that time though dont forget to stress how much you want her and love her, and you can be both her mummy and her daddy.
 

You could explain it in a way that is simple like: There are lots of different familys, some have a mummy, some only have a daddy, some children have 2 mummies and 2 daddies. It doesnt matter what the family is like your loved just as much with one parent and the child with 4 parents.