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i've lost all sight of what is fair in this situation.

31 replies

Booyhoo · 18/03/2013 14:31

two dcs with EXP aged 7 and 3. until 1 month ago EXP was in the forces and DC have always lived with me. even when EXP lived with me he was away 90% of the time and it is fair to say i have been the majority care giver. EXP lives 7 miles away and shares a car with his fiancee who has two jobs and uses the car to get to her jobs. i am currently unemployed but am in the process of registering as a CMer (which has been delayed for various reasons including my LL dragging his feet on work being done in the house) i'm also trying to set up a small business for evenings and weekends and the decision to do so was based entirely on the fact that EXP told me he was leaving his job and would be at home full time and would be having the dcs every other weekend friday- sunday and at least 1 weeknight every week. if i hadn't thought i would have this support with the dcs i would not have done my course and invested what little money i have in it, including paying out for childcare at the time.

so EXP came home over a month ago and there has been no mention of what days/times he wants to have the dcs for the EOW arrangement.

i texted today asking if he had any idea what he wanted and he said that he will be starting a new job in a few weeks so wont be able to have the dcs during the week. i said ok, but you can have them until you start the new job so what days. he said he is helping someone out during the days at the minute so cant have the dcs but that he would have a bit of money for me (i dont want this to be about money but yes i am struggling since he left his job so i'm grateful that i will be getting something).

however i'm feeling very frustrated. it makes sens that if EXp is working that the dcs stay here. the school is behind my house. it is silly to insist that he gets up earlier to drop them in here in the mornings and especially if he is having to share a car with his partner and she is already at work. however the bit i'm struggling with is, what if i was to have a job, would i suddenly be less obligated to have my dcs overnight? and how about when i am CMing? i will of course look after my own children but surely half of the childcare should be his responsibility and if he expects me to do his half (which clearly he does) then should i lose income because of it? i can only look after so many children and having my own two here means two less paid mindees. again, of course i will look after my own dcs rather than EXP sending them somewhere else but his income isn't being affected because he has children, nor is he having to worry about childcare.

also, i was depending on EXP having the dcs at least 1 evening a week so that i could get my business up and running. it will require me to be able to leave the house and have clients in which isn't practical if i'm having to do baths and bed time and get drinks for dcs etc. exp had told me he would be there for me and he knew my plans for this business so knew what childfree time i would need. obviously i am glad that he is working, he shouldn't be prevented from working because he has children but i'm feeling that i am being taken for granted as his childcare and that he is free to have whatever career path he chioses yet i know if i chose to WOH full time like he is then i would carry the full weight of the childcare costs.

can someone please tell me what is fair and if i should be asking for a bit more help or not? i feel like i am he one still making all teh sacrifices when i honestly thought that him being home full time would mean i could start getting my life back.

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IneedAgoldenNickname · 18/03/2013 14:48

I don't know what is legally our morally right and fair, but wanted to say, I hear ya!

Ex had the DC when it suits him, and doesn't turn up if he's ill/gets offered overtime at work. Actually that's fine with me, because I love being with them.

BUT when I'm sick, I have to manage, or arrange someone else to have them. I have to arrange childcare when I'm at nursery/uni interviews. Provided I get into uni, I'll have to find childcare for those days, plus when I'm on placement.

It doesn't seem like a fair balance, but I refuse to ask him to have them more as he'll cancel at the last minute to spite me and/or hold it against me.

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Booyhoo · 18/03/2013 14:53

that's what i'm up against too. he will fail to turn up or refuse to have them if i make it clear that i need him to. i feel like i cant even commit to starting my business because i cant be sure i have childcare. i know it sounds very childish but it just doesn't feel very fair.

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IneedAgoldenNickname · 18/03/2013 15:24

I agree, it's not fair, but I don't know what the solution is! :(

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freddiemisagreatshag · 18/03/2013 15:26

It's not fair. Sad But I don't know what the answer is.

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Booyhoo · 18/03/2013 15:32

i've texted EXP saying basically the gist of my OP and asking him how he thought it was fair that he has 2 children and is unrestricted in what job he can do and has no childcare to pay whilst i have teh same 2 children and am restricted either by what EXP says he will do or by the cost of childcare. i dont know what i'm hoping for tbh.

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Booyhoo · 18/03/2013 16:07

Wow!! i'm actually in shock at the response i've had from Exp.

he said that because i'm the one that asked him to leave that he shouldn't have to give up anything and that the government pays me to be at home! i asked him if he thought i shouldn'e be entitled to make a living for myself beyond what the state gives me. and he has replied that i need to get a man to help me out and that his partner looks after our dcs when he isn't there so it's really not his fault that i have no-one to look after the dcs!

Shock

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IneedAgoldenNickname · 18/03/2013 16:09

What a twat!

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MrsMcEnroe · 18/03/2013 16:19

Oh my god. What an arsehole.

I'm so sorry OP.

Can you turn it around on him, get a solicitor, apply for shared custody and get an agreement drawn up (and court-ordered) that he WILL have the DCs a set number of nights per week, or is this not possible/legal?? (Sorry, don't know the legalities here but worth investigating maybe??)

It's bloody rubbish for you. It is 100% unfair. Bet you're glad he's your ex ...

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Booyhoo · 18/03/2013 16:25

i've replied taht i didn't make an agreement with another man that he would have my dcs in evenings so i could work, that i made it with him and that he agreed knowing i was going back to college on that basis and investing money in it. he is saying that it would mean him collecting dcs at half 7 at night and leaving them back with me at 7am which of course woudl be unfair on the dcs so i have asked him to think about what he would do if i didn't exist and he had to work and sort teh dcs. i'm hoping he'll see taht he would have to agree with family to care for dcs or pay a childcare provider and tehn we can negotiate from that point that he will either sort childcare for 50% of the week whilst he's working or compensate me for loss of income (once i am working) for those 2.5 days that he chooses to send the dcs to me. i dont think we'll get to taht point though. i feel i will have to go down teh solicitor route as i am really resenting just having to suck it up and put all my own plans on teh back burner.

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freddiemisagreatshag · 18/03/2013 16:30

God he's an utter tool.

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colditz · 18/03/2013 16:35

He is being unfair, but there is not a law in the land that will make a non resident parent even SEE their children, unfortunately. I suggest you make sure you get 20% of his net income, because that is what you are entitled to.

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Booyhoo · 18/03/2013 16:38

he's the sort of man who will never be without a woman. before he was with his fiancee he had his mother collect our dcs, he still does when his fiancee is busy. he needs women to do all those dull jobs like his washing, his cooking his child rearing etc. it is convenient for him that i haven't worked for a few years. he doesn't like that the free childcare is ending.

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Booyhoo · 18/03/2013 16:39

no doubt even if i manage to get him taking teh dcs, it will be his partner that does the care.

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Viviennemary · 18/03/2013 16:49

It certainly isn't fair that there should be a change of plans by your ex which has now thrown your plans into disarray. Not quite sure what the solution is. I think you should let him know in a calm way that you were relying on him. He is the one who has made things difficult by changing his mind. Not you. I don't think you can count on him for reliable childcare by the sound of it.

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Booyhoo · 18/03/2013 16:59

yes the texts have been calm and i said that his actions (now refusing to have the dcs) have meant i cant continue with the original plan. he knows he has let me down. no i dont think i can count on him but i've been to soft in the past and i'm not ready to give up on this one yet. i cant build a business with him turning up randomly to have the dcs. he might think he's still helping me out doing that but it isn't helpful when i cant plan clients even a few days in advance. i need a fixed arrangement. even if he doesn't agree to having them during the week i want fixed times agreed for the EOW arrangement.

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Lonecatwithkitten · 18/03/2013 19:06

I would regroup and turn this on it's head. Stop talking about your need to work and make it about your DCs need to develop and maintain a relationship with their father in a regular and planned way. After all contact is about the children's needs so this is the route I would go down.

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Booyhoo · 18/03/2013 19:43

you're right. it should be about what is best for the dcs and throughout it always has been that which i've been encouraging i just got so excited about finally being able to do something for me and when i realised that he was letting me down again i got pissed off. i dont know why i ever believed him anyway. i've texted him with suggested times for the EOW arrangement and he has agreed to that so at least i have times and might be able to plan a little bit for the weekends the dcs arent here. it does sound like EXP doesn't intend to see them between times though which is quite a long time. but that's up to him to think about. i cant force him.

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BranchingOut · 19/03/2013 17:18

Any update OP?

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Booyhoo · 19/03/2013 17:57

no, nothing further since the last update that he has agreed times for the EOW arrangement. i dont know whether to just accept that this is the arrangement we have and resent the loss of income or try and get him to take on more responsibility for the dcs.

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mumandboys123 · 19/03/2013 18:13

I try and see it as any income is positive, even if I'm having to pay out for childcare whilst he pays for nothing. I even pay for childcare on 'his' time because he can't be trusted to not change things/disappear/decide not to turn up for a few weeks. I can't afford to lose my job and with three children, getting them back into childcare at school would be impossible - there's a waiting list for most nights in the afterschool club.

Don't let it eat you up. You have the best of your children. You're doing your best by them by trying to juggle everything and earn a living at the same time. It may take years for them to realise, but at some point in the future, the penny will drop with them just who bothered about them and who didn't.

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Sheila · 19/03/2013 18:19

It is totally unfair, but I think you need to find a solution that doesn't depend on him. Do you have a friend or relative who could sit for you one night a week?

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Booyhoo · 19/03/2013 18:29

yes i cant let it eat at me because there isn't a fair solution available to me so it would be wasted energy.

no-one who could sit for me at the moment. everyone has families of their own to be getting to bed etc. i cant afford to pay anyone for evening babysitting at the minute so i will focus on what i can do during the weekends they aren't here and maybe get to a point where a babysitter is an option or i might be able to have clients in once they are settled to sleep. the 7 year old is not a worry but the 3 year old can be unpredictable and could decide to wake up when i am with a client.

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BranchingOut · 19/03/2013 21:12

If I was going to see a CM I would be happy to see them during the school day or at the weekend, if that is any help.

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Booyhoo · 19/03/2013 21:18

the weekend/evening business is actually something that is completely different from CMing. i'm a beauty therapist and was hoping to do mobile and at home treatments although it will obviously be a very slow burner now.

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Booyhoo · 19/03/2013 21:19

CMing will be my full time, main source of income.

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