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My 19 year old son is physically and emotionally abusive to me

70 replies

anguishedmum · 06/08/2022 21:13

Hello, newbie here and in dire need for advice please. I have two sons, 25 and 19 and have been trying to cope with an alcoholic husband for years, something which is obviously negatively affecting us all. My 19 year old is a really sharp and kind kid, on his first year at law school. He lives at home, is fully dependent on us and for the most part, he and I have a very good relationship, talk a lot about everything, help each other emotionally and get on quite well, most of the time. However, he has always been pretty assertive, does not easily take no for an answer, always wants to have the last word and has been physically and emotionally abusive to me on two major occasions in the last 3 years. This usually follows a conversation that gets heated up for no real reason and when this happens, I usually say or show him that I do not want to keep talking and/or arguing on this tone, and will do so later when things calm down. On both occasions he refuses to accept or respect this. The first time, I tried to get some time-out and retreated to my bedroom. He followed me up there, calling me names and relentlessly pursued me around the house, slamming doors and breaking things and physically shoving me and pushing me around. Today, the same thing happened, I said I did not wish to continue talking until he had calmed down and used a less aggressive tone of voice and when he did not respect that, I simply closed off my ears with my hands and concentrated on my laptop, choosing to ignore him. He responded by coming over to where I was sitting, towering over me, grabbing by wrists and physically pulling them away from my ears, pinning me down and calling me names. I did not speak to him at all, just tried to defend myself and free myself from his grasp and accidentally knocking his phone down. He continued to grab and hurt me physically, shutting down and threatening to break my laptop, calling me names and laughing in my face. This behavior is very very hurtful for me and I don’t know how to cope with it. I realize that his father addiction to alcohol may be at the root of some of this aggressive behavior, but I don’t think it justifies the whole of it. Last time this happened, I left the house for 5 days. This time, I decided to face him with consequences, so I withdrew his monthly allowance from his bank account. I am planning to tell him that I am perfectly happy to pay for his lifestyle and studies, as long as we are in a mutually loving and respectful relationship, but not otherwise. I do not know what else to do and how to cope with this very hurtful situation and any advice would be more than welcome.

OP posts:
Ohtoberoavingagain · 07/08/2022 03:54

I’m sorry but you’re not handling this well and I can understand why. The alcoholic husband will have worn you down, why are you still with him?
Cutting off finances to your son which he’ll realise in a few days ( I assume) is likely to inflame him more.
Kick husband out. He’ll never improve.
Kick son out. If he ever assaults you again 999. Have him arrested. He’s learning each time it’s ok to assault a woman. He’ll move on to g/f, wife.
Sounds harsh but I knew a friend’s son assaulted her and within a year witnessed him assaulting his g/f.

carefullycourageous · 07/08/2022 03:58

You need to get help from a specialist women's charity or organisation supporting patents who suffer domestic abuse from their children. You shouldn't have to deal with this and your son is committing a crime, the law is on your side. He shouldn't live in your home if he can't behave legally.

mathanxiety · 07/08/2022 04:33

You call the police - that's how you handle this.

Call them today and report the assault.

See how that looks on his record when the time comes to get a training contract...

If you won't call the police, then I'm sorry but he's going to keep on doing this to you.

Your choice is call police, divorce your alcoholic H and leave H and son to entertain each other without you, or put up with all the shit your family sees fit to dump on you. You have choices here.

2pinkginsplease · 07/08/2022 04:39

If this were my son I’d be telling him that if that ever happens again I will call the police and that will be the end of his law career.

no one should be living in fear of being physically and emotionally abused in their own home,

mathanxiety · 07/08/2022 04:39

You can give your son an ultimatum.

He moves out within two weeks.

At this point you return the amount you withdrew.

If he isn't out in two weeks he doesn't get the money back and you call police to report the attack.

That's his career scuppered. You can point that out to him if his wheels need any greasing.

You don't owe his career any protection. Protect yourself first and last.

autocollantes · 07/08/2022 04:47

I'm so sorry OP. Being abused by your child is something g so hard to get your head around.

Your husband isn't being neutral here in being the same distance from both of you, he's actively supporting his son. Unless he fully sides with you and stops him attacking you, he's giving DS the signal that it's ok, he can carry on.

I would also want him out (you actually deserve to live free of both of them but I'm focusing on DS here) and warn him that if there is any hint of a repeat - ever - you will go to the police. And you actually should do it too - this shouldn't be an empty promise.

As for whether it ruins his career, well who knows if he'll end up wanting to be a lawyer anyway, but if a profession requires certain standards, then it's for a reason. And it's not you jeopardising his career, it's him and his actions. Like someone else said, he's not attacking some big dude at the gym. He's able to control himself with other people. There's a choice in his actions that he needs to get control of and take responsibility for.

Suetodo88 · 07/08/2022 05:28

Gotta love some of the answers here. This is her son and the recommendation is to call the police which will end his career, which in turn will either totally end her relationship with him (he may never talk to her again it’s a real possibility) or else upon losing his career he’ll spiral further out of control and this beahviour will ramp up and she will either have to kick him out and not see him again, or else let him stay and deal with a directionless angry man in her house.

The far more obvious answer other than calling the police and trying to ruin his future is to kick him out of the house. Even if that means helping him with rent. If he ever does it again get him out and tell him why. He can continue with his career and he can either change or not on his own.

In the haste of some posters to punish men for bad beahviour (and it is bad here) they haven’t taken into account the reality of this situation at all. This isn’t some new boyfriend, it’s someone she raised from a baby who will always be a part of her life - and the advice is to break his entire future because he pushed her and yelled at her. I couldn’t do that and it would be a pretty harsh mother who could.

I wonder what his issue is though OP? Sounds like he does have some kind of MH issue or even autism or similar? Or is it some kind of drug use you don’t know about? Perhaps he also drinks? Maybe your husband isn’t violent but not all men act the same under the influence.

ThinkingForEveryone · 07/08/2022 07:41

I would sit him down and tell him if it happens again then he will be moving out.
I would stop the allowance from today (stop making being at home so cushy for him, he's 19, he can work for money)
Sounds like he's unilaterally decided he's the man of the house now and if your alcoholic Husband is his example I can see why he has ended up like this.
Get rid of the Husband, I won't explain the reasons why and alcoholic is not a good husband or father.

TheWeeDonkey · 07/08/2022 08:18

I think it's time for him to move out and gain some independence.

What are the other men in the household doing while hes having these rages? Is this behaviour hes learned from his father?

TealSapphire · 07/08/2022 09:22

He has to move out. Along with your husband, who he has learnt to disrespect you from.

I went through similar with my DS16 at the time. We went to a psychologist together (me and DS). His father moved out not long after and was adamant DS went with him. I was devastated at the time but it put much needed distance between us for me to enact firm boundaries.

Two years on we have a much improved relationship.

anguishedmum · 07/08/2022 09:57

Thank you. I think I will follow the advice most of you have given and give him an ultimatum that if this ever happens again, I will notify the police and have him move out. Thanks

OP posts:
HappyHamsters · 07/08/2022 11:18

I wouldnt bother with an ultimatum, he might just see it as an empty threat and mock you. i would just call the police and let him get a job and move out. He can stay in uni digs.

caringcarer · 07/08/2022 11:26

Ask him to leave asap. Stop paying him any allowance. Tell him he has assisted you and if he refuses to leave call the police and get a restraining order. If he won't show you respect force him to leave. I hope he has not grown up watching his Dad push you around, because if so it is learned behaviour.

anguishedmum · 07/08/2022 11:39

Thanks. No, his father may have an alcohol addiction, but he has never been physically abusive or violent

OP posts:
Elleherd · 07/08/2022 11:40

This has a name: Child/Adolescent to Parent Violence and Abuse or CAPVA.

‘the majority of CAPVA cases involve boys in late adolescence and their mothers and is most likely to be physical violence.’

‘Immense shame and fear of criminalisation of their child or the child being removed from the home’ are behind the under reporting of what is actually more common than man realise.

www.pegsupport.co.uk/

www.riseuk.org.uk/get-help/about-domestic-abuse/child-to-parent-abuse

whosincharge.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/WIC-Addressing-Child-to-Parent-Violence-and-Abuse-Information-to-help-parents-V1-2020-3.pdf

reducingtherisk.org.uk/child-on-parent-violence/

I’m concerned that you may well not do what you’re currently saying. It’s easy to tell people you will, but can be a lot harder to do in practice. Ideally you will go and learn a lot, and talk to some of the above organizations, and regain a decent parental relationship whether that requires him to live elsewhere or not.

Elleherd · 07/08/2022 11:51

I’ve been caught in this with a passive ex who could take or leave his family, one child with serious brain damage, and then the sibling with ASD getting very close to the same behaviors because he couldn’t contain his rage, even though we’d always had a good close relationship previously.

(he'd also been a victim of bullying and male aggression as a victim.)

Notably his (very large) father in the background of his life, wasn’t stepping up either, but Ds went from 'must have last word' to exploding and on the edge of violence with him, and everybody – which was key to me understanding it was as much an issue about his anger management as a whole, as his relationships.

But, I was the person there all the time, with expectations, trying to steer us as a family and dealing with a disability and how society saw me, so I was most often his flash point.

It’s very painful and difficult to admit it’s happening to you, but you’re not the first and won’t be the last. It’s a truly heart-breaking place to be and those saying call the police need to recognize most parents only do when the situation has reached a level of danger that means they no longer have a choice.

However, your son doesn’t know that, neither does he know if the neighbors might call them and end his potential career.

Eupraxias post was brutal, but actually it’s close to what your son would probably interpret your response as, and this is worth thinking about, hurtful as it is.

He’s not seeing you as a parent, or as having any value. He's seeing you as an unequal, equal who he needs to prove himself against.
TBH the fact he has a monthly allowance from a parent he isn’t respecting is potentially part of what is allowing his self-infantilising.

Is this money directly earned by you or part of you and Dad’s income? I ask because if it’s the later then you being the gatekeeper is likely to be different in his head than if you are the main provider.

Taking money already given, back from him is a very bad idea IMO. It’s the wrong type of attempted control and is potentially infantilising. Telling him there is little reason why you would continue subsiding such behaviour in the future as a matter of self-respect, is the better way – it gives him back the opportunity to take control of himself to avoid it and places the idea of self-respect into the conversation.

I notice (perfectly reasonable) but seemingly quiet passive ('I’m going to be terribly reasonable in the face of your unreasonableness' can exacerbate)
responses to his behavior, where as what he needs is a very firm, ‘you are about to no longer be a teenager’ and as few words or explaining as possible ‘information delivery’ of how things will be from now on, or it’s time for him to make his own way in the world independently.

(In our case it was followed up later with me leading him at looking more positively at whether he and I should be doing that anyway as it was the enforced enmeshing that was our particular issue colliding with his more general anger management issues. His dad ‘getting away with abandoning responsibility’ turned out to be bigger than I’d given credit to.)

One issue here is your son has already broken an important boundary of getting directly physically aggressive with you, which didn’t actually happen here. (though frighteningly close) and it may change things – please talk to professionals.

Craver · 07/08/2022 12:01

A kick in the balls followed by a non molestation order is what he needs.

Decidualcast · 07/08/2022 12:16

I think you’ve handled it as best you can but not escalating it with anger. I agree that he needs to leave and have a stream warning that police will be involved next time. I the meantime, he needs help to understand why he’s behaving this way in order to protect other women in his life in the future. Does he have any signs of ASD? Any trauma from childhood?

@Elleherd post was very measured.

anguishedmum · 07/08/2022 12:20

Thank you Elleherd. I am sorry this has been happening to you and I am really taking into very serious consideration all you have been saying. I agree that it is very difficult as a parent, to reach the point where you call the police. I think giving him an ultimatum about him moving out and/or notifying the police if this happens again, is probably more plausible and realistic. As for who owns/earns the money given to him, we have agreed with my husband that, as a matter of convenience, I financially support him, while my husband supports our other son. So technically speaking, it is my money. I have no problem supporting him until he completes his studies and gets a job, on the contrary, I am gladly doing so, provided it is done in a mutually loving and respectful relationship, which I consider we do have, for the most part. I certainly don't plan to condone any sort of abusive behavior on his part though

OP posts:
serene12 · 07/08/2022 12:20

From reading your post, it seems that it’s your alcoholic husband that is the ‘elephant in the room’. You say that he’s never been aggressive, yet you say that you’ve been trying to cope with his alcoholism for years. I think that the impact of your husband’s alcoholism is negatively affecting your family.
You may want to consider contacting www.al-anonuk.org.uk Al-anon is there for anyone whose life is affected by someone else’s drinking.

IHeartPepsi · 07/08/2022 12:25

What a little arsehole he is. Why are you describing him as kind?! He isn't.

beastlyslumber · 07/08/2022 12:35

Kick him out. He needs to seek help for his behaviour but he won't as long as you allow him to stay.

ThinkingForEveryone · 07/08/2022 12:40

@IHeartPepsi it's the same as women in a dv relationship with a partner....they always, without fail say 'he's a good dad'.
I can only assume OP is clinging on to the good parts of the relationship she has with her son, and probably memories from when he was a child!
I think as an outsider it's easy to see the son is a gobshite that needs taking down a peg or two but I guarantee op won't see it that way.

Elleherd · 07/08/2022 13:57

Anguished we're well past the worst of it, brain damaged one is at a different point and at an age where I won't be prosecuted for no longer forcing them to do xyz, so I'm looking at quality of life rather than quantity for them.

Ds still lives here, partly because he's listened up about where exactly my boundaries are, learnt some behavior management strategies and self respect of his own, recognized my respect for him as well as my irritation at times, and we've been able to talk a lot, including what I might need to change and adjust as well as him, if he was to be independent while actually being dependent.

But because of trying to raise an ASD child in an NT world I've always been in the position of second guessing where we're going, and I'll be honest and say my instinctive reaction at the time was rather different from yours (and probably most mum's) and I then took immediate actions to steer the dynamic as well as reading the riot act. (which I'd suggest you should be doing both - stick and carrot.)
To this day I'm quick to draw the line before things could get out of hand.

Ds's development profile remains spiky and not where one would like for age,
we're overcrowded, and a situation where it's been Mum trying to teach him and have him explore what 'being a man means' (not easy as I've never been one, and lack a father) while Dad (also ASD) in the background demonstrated something different.

There is something about a woman effectively wearing the pants while young men without good role models are developing, but expecting to later revert to a skirt, that can be a challenge. It's not talked about unfortunately.

Ds knows he's had to be raised by a strong single woman literally in leu of his Dad, and some of his behavior was almost 'black back trying to overthrow silver back' if that makes any sense. I'm the one that was stopping him squaring up to his father, and thus keeping the status quo and making him accept it all. He rebelled, in a very immature, potentially dangerous way.

Your situations different, but I sense some parallels.

Elleherd · 07/08/2022 13:59

The financial arrangement you describe is likely to be entirely technical in his eyes and adds to making him 'mums boy' and I suspect he sees Mum as both controlling and enabling dad, and in his eyes probably him.

I hope that doesn't sound judgemental, it's not meant to be. Lots of us, me included, are doing what we can with what we have, and not seeing the unintended side effects until they bite.

Is his money going into a joint account? ( noting your ability to withdraw it) If so I'd change that, he's not yet adult enough for that to not be control, and needs to be adulting fast.

Up to you if you want to answer or not:

Is he normally at uni currently home for the holidays or commuting?

Has he any independent income source?

Does he drive?

Has he had relationships yet?

Are you aware of how any of these these things may potentially play into the problem?