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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

...to want to never, ever see my step-daughter again as long as I live?

260 replies

IrisMurdoch · 24/01/2011 16:02

The worst thing is...my dp says he doesn't want kids with me because it would be 'too complicated' eg I've had my two kids so I'm OK and my daughter has also told me not to have any more kids! So instead of having a family of my own, I have to put up with his awful children for the rest of time. Anyone been in a similar plight and found a way through? Thanks so much, Iris. Sorry that I sound like a child-hating cow.

OP posts:
marantha · 25/01/2011 13:37

Of course you need to be married to use term 'stepmother' FFS!
(or, at a push, at least in long-term, financially committed live-in relationship).
I once dated (pure dating no living together) a man when I was in my early 20's who had a female child, the relationship carried on for about 3 years, I got on OK with her and she with me-always tried to be a 'friend' to her more than anything else.
There was no way on this earth that I thought of myself as being her 'stepmother'- it would be an affront to do so.
I no longer think you are mean-spirited, I also think you are a ignorant and insensitive, too.

JamieLeeCurtis · 25/01/2011 13:45

babyheave - Fair point. Maybe there is a double standard. But there are also other differences between the thread you link and this one. I am sure the OP is regretting posting in the way she did, on AIBU.

If you read my earlier posts, I asked for more information right at the beginning. I also said that, in the absence of info, on AIBU people make their own assumptions when an OP with this title and this tone is posted, and that makes the OP feel attacked.

It's a shame, because there is some really good advice here about step-parenting, being a step-child, and about understanding behavioural difficulties in 11 year olds.

JamieLeeCurtis · 25/01/2011 13:47

... I mean, it's a shame if the OP has stopped reading

Lamorna · 25/01/2011 13:53

I don't think that people on AIBU are looking for advice, I think that you are just supposed to say 'oh poor you, having met the man of your dreams, you have to put up with a stroppy 11yr old' and 'oh poor you, he puts his DD first'. I don't think anything else is required, certainly not the truth;'he comes as a package and you should be putting the 11yr old first'.

It is lovely when people on AIBU actually take note and think that people may at least have valid points, it is very rare and generally they quietly stop reading or go off in a huff!

JamieLeeCurtis · 25/01/2011 13:58

Lamorna - I think that's true in many cases

In other cases, AIBU seems to be the only place people think of or know of to post, and the thread takes off in a way they never anticipated, because people do respond differently yo OPs placed in AIBU, compared to those in other Topics.

glammanana · 25/01/2011 14:04

How immature is op to not like this child who
has had her world shattered,but she will be
ok,are you sure that the little girl is not
much like her mother for your own comfort,
to dislike a child of this age imo is not
normal and you need to separate if this
child is not to be affected by
your dislike of her

Lamorna · 25/01/2011 14:13

I agree that AIBU can take off in ways they didn't anticipate, but if you start on it you must take into account that at least some people will come out with YABU and be prepared to listen.

JamieLeeCurtis · 25/01/2011 14:17

yes, true

TakeItOnTheChins · 25/01/2011 14:20

Or maybe she's just a deeply unpleasant woman who doesn't like kids much?

monkeyflippers · 25/01/2011 14:53

Blimey that other thread!

LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726 · 25/01/2011 14:58

How long has DP actually been your partner, OP? You say that you've known them for many years. Are you actually a proper couple?

It might sound a really strange question but, I was friends with somebody in school whose widowed dad used to get regular visits from a woman in the street... she used to refer to my friend as her 'stepdaughter'... Shock

If you've been friends for this many years, you ought to have some accord in whatever relationship you have... you don't seem to have this at all and it sounds as if you DP doesn't see you in his family's future... that's how it reads to me from your posts anyway.

You might think that this girl doesn't know how you feel but unless you are an extraordinary poker player, she does - and so does her dad. This man's children are always going to come first to him and that's as it should be. He needs to find a woman who at the very least have genuine affection for his children.

JamieLeeCurtis · 25/01/2011 15:01

monkey-flippers. yes, distressing

Iris - if you are still reading God knows what this is bringing up for you. I hope your relationship with your DS is better now.

monkeyflippers · 25/01/2011 15:02

Reading that other thread where she said she didn't love her child completely changes things. I can't help but wonder if that's just how she feels about all children. She described her own as charmless and her SD as humourless. (not critisising all parents who don't feel love for their kids, just that reading that one and this on together changes things)

I think you OP need to get some help. Counselling or something. You seem to have strange ideas and expectations of children. Maybe this is something you can learn and change?

monkeyflippers · 25/01/2011 15:04

Also in the thread when you said your DS was charmless you later added all these cute and funny things that he does. It's like part of you was blocking that out and just focusing on the negatives about him. Is that how you are generally?

By the way, how is that problem with you DS now?

mathanxiety · 25/01/2011 15:23

Babyheave, thank you for the link. It's clear to me that IrisM thinks love is a magical feeling (not a verb which it should be as was so eloquently pointed out by Bumpsadaisie) and that a relationship with a child should fill some void in her, basically a one way street, something she is entitled to, and entitled to feel angry and resentful about if it doesn't magically appear to transform her life.

IrisM, children don't have to like you. You are not entitled to their affection. They are not there to meet some need of yours.

You have no right to pour scorn and hatred upon them when they refuse to play the role you have assigned to them.

You are not thinking or feeling or behaving like an adult. You are not interested in a discussion of uncomfortable subjects either. You seem to have a hard time accepting that everyone doesn't have to like you. You are engaged in a sulk, a slow burning tantrum.

Your problem lies in your relationship with this weasly man who has blamed his DD for his own decision not to have any more children (with you), who used weasel words like 'complicated' to explain past events and relationships, and whom you have put between a rock and a hard place.

Stop scapegoating this child and deflecting your anger from what should be the real focus, and stop thinking this child, or any child for that matter, should fill your emotional needs.

GabbyLoggon · 25/01/2011 16:14

sometime extreme harsh feelings last but on occasions they fade away. Good luck "Gabby"

Angelmist · 25/01/2011 16:20

You all need to sit down and talk.

Just for the record, having your own is no guarantee you'll like them any better or you'll get on with them any better.

Your husband needs to work with you on this otherwise the future could be very short as a family.

cumfy · 25/01/2011 20:10

You sound from the other thread like you have a significant alcohol dependance.

Whilst you frequently accept you are miserable, you seem completely blind to the fact that this affects others.

When you see humorless, rude, unhuggable, malign people in your DS and DSD you are looking directly into a mirror.

bubblewrapped · 25/01/2011 20:25

Well.... after reading the other thread, all I can say is how sorry I feel for that poor unloved little boy. I sincerely hope he gets love and affection from someone in his life because it certainly wont be from Iris, who is quite possibly one of the most self centred individuals I have come across on these boards.

duchesse · 25/01/2011 20:41

After reading the OP of that other thread I wonder whether the OP has some undiagnosed PND or MH issues stemming from childhood. If you read that OP, much of the same words are echoed here regarding the child's behaviour and demeanour. I wonder whether the OP was herself the victim of some spectacularly poor parenting.

The thing is OP that you cannot expect children to give anything back. What you gain from them is not intelligence conversation or twinkliness or entertainment value, any more than in a civilised country they exist to provide labour. They do not exist for our convenience, they exist for themselves. We merely look after them while they still unable to look after themselves, and hope to have fun along the way. If loved most children will be entertaining and loving, but you cannot expect them to be so.

I think that maybe you need some counselling about your role as a parent OP and address those underlying issues. I feel sorry for you as well as for your children and boyfriend's children now.

Mrswhiskerson · 25/01/2011 21:09

I have read the other thread and it does change things a bit , I still think you could have worded things differently , I would go for counselling as you could have depression or issues you need resolving and from the other thread you sound very unhappy . There is a lot of help out there see your gp to help take the first steps .good luck

ElleAndBump · 25/01/2011 21:24

so if he found YOUR son awful would you abandon him to have children of your* own with him??????

pinkstarlight · 25/01/2011 21:29

so you say shes a strange and rude child and you also wish she didnt exist and yet you call this young girl cold and heartless.no wonder shes playing up i garentee she knows you cant stand her.

sounds to me your putting all the blame on this child instead of being honest with yourself about the issues that are going on with your partner like you dont live together and your already arguing,he doesnt want any more children and the fact he wants you to spend time with his kids every other weekend which is understandable else how is your relationship ever going to move forward.

i wouldnt worry about it to much as i cant see your relationship lasting.

mathanxiety · 25/01/2011 23:02

'There is nothing in this for me'

and

'I never thought that motherhood would be so profoundly empty, boring, one-sided and depressing'

jumped out from the other thread at me.

Bogeyface · 26/01/2011 08:27

"There is nothing in this for me" jumped out at me too.

It concerns me that a huge problem within the OPs relationship with her DP is that he wont have another child with her. If she has these feelings about the three children on her life then why on earth is she making an issue about having another?

Having another will only make these problems worse surely?!

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