Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to have just phoned police about dss?

47 replies

GoodEggBadEgg · 28/04/2011 17:14

I feel awful.

Ds is 14, lives with me and Dh. Has done for many years. I've posted about him a few times before.

He got into a fight at school. I was talking to him about it when he got home. He flipped, as usual - punching and throwing things. Have 3 other dcs at home and was quite anxious about today outburst anyway.

Then he grabs a craft knife and matches and storms out saying he's going to use them.

Police are looking for him now.

That was an hour ago, didn't have time to post before police arrived saying they'd arrested him for possession. Had to give a statement, he'll probably get a 'reprimand' meaning he'll be bailed for a couple of weeks then have to go back for a 'telling off'. That's how its been explained to me anyway.

Dh had to go up in a couple of hours for the Interview.

God I feel awful about this. [Sad]

OP posts:
ChippingInLovesEasterEggs · 28/04/2011 17:38

GoodEgg - ignore JoJoWest, it's been around a little while and is just a shit stirer.

ChippingInLovesEasterEggs · 28/04/2011 17:40

GoodEgg - I have no advice, just a ((HUG)). I think you did the only thing you could have done. You would have felt much worse if he had gone and knifed one of the boys he'd been in the fight with and he would have been in much bigger trouble.

What has DH said about you calling the police?

I hope you get some decent help with the (overall) situation very soon!

Bohica · 28/04/2011 17:41

Oh really cuteboots what is the point of you posting on an open forum where people can & do post things they would like to talk about with strangers?

How do you know your not a troll if you don't know what one is? [chmm]

ManicPanic · 28/04/2011 17:42

??? This is an interent forum. Discussing things with strangers is pretty much the order of the day. The OP is using what we call a pseudonym to protect her identity.

If I were you cuteboots I wouldn't bother reading about 95% of posts on here, you will get bored of putting 'hmm not something I'd want to discuss openly with strangers.' If it were all 'whats' the best cake recipe' then this would be a fucking boring site.

OP I don't think you are in anyway being nasty to your dss, let's face it you would be doing him no favours by allowing his behaviour to go unchallenged.

And if you want to anonymously use an internet forum to discuss, you go straight ahead! Wink

And ignore the one-line twattishness - I posted a ver ver serious ishoo a few weeks ago and got that kind of one liner - glad I ignored it now.

GoodEggBadEgg · 28/04/2011 17:42

Rather discuss with knowledgeable strangers than judgey family and friends!

His problems are a combination of things. Pediatrician is wary of diagnosing as he doesn't fit into one 'box' attachment disorder is the closest were getting but thats rarely diagnosed. Add and odd have been waved about. Youngest Ds had mild asd and there are many similarities between them, but not enough.

His mum's negative influence is of course a factor. He sees very little of her (her choice) but he had a horrible time as a young child. He's a very angry young man

OP posts:
GoodEggBadEgg · 28/04/2011 17:49

Dh is in complete agreement with what I did.

We're hoping it will be s shock to the system but am worried it may just reinforce the negative view he had of the police from his mum.

OP posts:
Salmotrutta · 28/04/2011 17:55

Well, it's great that you are both singing from the same hymn-sheet on this and I'm sure the Police will deal with your DS in as professional a manner as possible.
At the end of the day he has to come to realise that it's his own actions that have brought this about although that realisation may take time in coming.
I feel for you OP and I hope things start to improve in the near future.

GoodDaysBadDays · 03/05/2011 00:08

Hi. Just wanted to update and to say thanks again for the support on Thursday, you made me feel like I wasn't the awful Mum I had told myself I was (or wicked step mother which is how I thought the rest of the world would see me!)

Dss was arrested and charged with possession of a knife.

He was interviewed with dh there and bailed about 5 and a half hours after his arrest. He has to appear at the police station later this month to receive a Final Warning. This is more than we anticipated but as it was a knife crime he couldn't just be given a Reprimand, despite it being his first involvement with the police. I'm not moaning here, just trying to explain it briefly!

He was treated very seriously (a good thing imo) and it does seemed to have shocked him.

He is very remorseful and has said some positive things this weekend which implies that this has had an effect.

The local Youth Offending Team will have to get involved, which is great considering we have been waiting for a referral to the Early Intervention YOT for a year!

We have been waiting for CAMHS support too so maybe this will push everything along more quickly.

It's not ideal, and I am hugely disappointed that we have got to this stage but maybe it needed to happen to break the cycle and to get dss (and us) some decent support.

Thanks again x

ChippingIn · 03/05/2011 12:24

Thanks for the update :)

It's bloody typical isn't it - it has to get to the stage where they have committed a crime to get the help you have been asking for (to prevent that) for over a year!!

Yes, hopefully this is the wakeup call he needs?! Fingers crossed.

I am so glad that your DH is in agreement with what you did and that you haven't had to deal with any fall out from doing what was best for D(s)S.

Let us know how it's going!

GypsyMoth · 03/05/2011 12:28

m a bout of bad behaviour resulting in reprimand and final warning (next stage)

it all turned out ok....no negative views on police....she now wants to be on!!

we got youth offending team involved...very,very good. they have good knowledge and have been amazng!

CAMHS,ss...none of them were any good. YOT have beeen brilliant.

NulliusInVerba · 03/05/2011 12:31

He sounds like a very angry and unhappy young man.

He is acting out because he needs help and support. Obviously the police will treat it very seriously, they have cracked down on any knife crime after recent media attention.

Something else is going on here, and its very possible he has got some sort of attachment disorder ect. He needs someone outside the family to talk to and confide him, probably counselling.

CareyFakes · 03/05/2011 12:37

You absolutely did the right thing, fair play to you. He was a danger not only to himself, but possibly to others. I hope you and the family get the support you guys need and he can work through his anger.

GoodDaysBadDays · 03/05/2011 17:19

cheers all Smile

Nullius - There is a hell of a lot else going on here! We stepped up our requests for help a year ago but he has had problems since, well, forever, poor boy.

Attachment disorder is rarely diagnosed and even if it is there is no official 'way to help', it's the least understood disorder around.

He has had various forms of support and some counselling but none was continued for reasons i am too exasperated to go into in depth.

A year ago he moved back in after a couple of months attempting to live with his Mum, he was back very quickly after being expelled from school. A disastrous few months in one respect but it made him see the grass isn't greener and he has accepted and seen his Mum for what she really is (A heroin addict who cannot be his parent right now). It was a hard lesson to learn and in some ways has helped him but acceptance is a hard thing.

He certainly needs loads of support and I have been writing and phoning, begging and pleading, to anyone who I can get hold of for a year now (8 May 6pm he moved back in, I made the first phone call the next morning at 8am!). But unfortunately, although everyone is very pleasant x can't act without y paperwork, I can't get y paperwork without a referral from z, z wont see us without us seeing x first. You get the idea.

I fought for a statement (which had been refused before) and then fought for a special school. Both with a ton of help from MN! He's been at the school since December and it's the best decision we made, he's so much happier there and while he might not achieve as much academically as we had once hoped, I hope that he will leave there a more rounded, socially capable person.

He's a lovely lad, volunteers with disabled children, loves to help old people with their shopping, wants to join the army and I'm immensely proud of him a lot of the time.

It's such a shame he cannot cope with the crap life he's been dealt Sad

But hopefully good will come of this and he'll get the help he needs.

wonka · 03/05/2011 17:33

You sound like a lovely stepmum, I hope things start to look up for you all soon! X

DontGoCurly · 03/05/2011 17:42

OP, I think you did the right thing. Tough love! If more people did the same society would be better.

NulliusInVerba · 03/05/2011 22:09

goodDaysBadDays Yes it appears there is alot more then!!

Sadly it probably took him a long time to see his mom "for what she is", e.g. a drug addict, because she probably told him she wasnt, or she would get clean tomorrow, and tomorrow never came......

The problem is seeing her for how she is may well be the thing that has pushed him over the edge, and has triggered these recent outbursts.
Accepting she is a drug addict wont have made it easier for him. Sometimes we protect ourselves by telling ourselves white lies.
It must be very hard for a young man to have it dawn on him, that his own mother wants drugs more than him.

You sound like you are trying very hard to help, I hope things get better for you all. From my experience with CAHMS they are useless.

GoodDaysBadDays · 03/05/2011 23:20

Thank you Nullius, I think you're right about him being pushed over the edge by his realisation of his mum.

Shame most who have experience of camhs think they are crap, I'm starting to think this too.

I'm holding out hope for the YOT, they sound like they may be the ones who can help. TIFFANY I'm hoping our team is as good as yours! [Smile]

Thanks again for all the positive messages, it helps knowing that others think we're doing the right thing.

Dh is very supportive but tbh does leave parenting mostly down to me, that's a huge pressure with 4 dc's especially when one's technically not mine! He never, ever questions my judgement but rarely has any input either. Fair enough I suppose, it is my job as a sahm!

chipmonkey · 04/05/2011 00:18

Not really fair enough of your dh, GoodDays. You cannot deal with your dss on your own and your dh probably does need to get more involved. Being a SAHM does not mean having to do all the parenting alone. You did the right thing btw and it is awful how a child has to go to extremes before they get help.

LDNmummy · 04/05/2011 00:33

This is a really sad situation you are in and I hope you and your family are ok. You did the right thing to keep control over the situation IMO and please don't beat yourself up about it. A big part of being a parent is making tough decisions.

GoodDaysBadDays · 08/05/2011 23:18

Oh chipmonkey you're probably right but that's a whole other issue that isn't something I have the energy for right now.

Dh and I (imo not his) have loads of ishoos that need sorting but dss and our other 3 have to be my priority, there aren't enough hours in the day for anything else!

I've spoken to YOT who were very nice. We've unfortunately missed out on the early intervention programme now but they're going to contact me to come and do an assessment and see what they can offer.

School haven't been any help as yet. I thought they'd be pretty good as its a special school for behavioural problems. They have also been unusually quiet about the initial fight after I pointed out that it was with a boy who my dss has had problems with for sometime. Not excusing dss at all, but the one conversation I've managed to have with school since then resulted in me being told dss was going to be suspended but when they received my email regarding previous incidents with this boy they decided not to punish dss at all. Bit of a drastic change and not sure it's sending the right message. Am concerned that if I hadn't have written that email they wouldn't have bothered to look into it properly. Not good and especially as they deal with similar daily.

Pootle78 · 08/05/2011 23:36

When they do the assessment they will score 12 risk sections (home, education, etc), each is scored of 0 - 4, 0 being the lowest. They are not required to complete any intervention with your dss unless he scores over 12 in the total assessment or an individual section scores 4, although individual officers may offer additional support. Ensure that whoever completes the section is aware of everything that has happened.

GoodDaysBadDays · 09/05/2011 19:26

That's really interesting pootle. Thank you Smile

New posts on this thread. Refresh page