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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to think he should have chosen his dd instead of his friend?

106 replies

CharlotteCollinsislost · 07/11/2012 14:26

My h has been invited to a stag weekend by a good friend. The weekend in question is the birthday weekend of our turning-9yo dd. He's chosen the stag do.

This means he misses most of the day itself (Sunday) and the night of the sleepover party (Friday night).

So AIBU to think he should've said no?

OP posts:
KenLeeeeeee · 07/11/2012 14:47

YANBU. My H wouldn't dream of buggering off out on one of our kids' birthdays. He has actually turned down a night out the day before ds1's birthday, just to make sure he's not overtired/hungover in the morning.

CharlotteCollinsislost · 07/11/2012 14:47

Jenai - yes, I'm a bit miffed that h told his friend that weekend would be awkward (friend is also dd's godfather!) and friend chose that one (as other friends couldn't do other weekends).

OP posts:
ScrambledSmegs · 07/11/2012 14:47

Nah. I'm psychic. Grin

pictish · 07/11/2012 14:48

x posted

If this is a regular occurance yanbu. I was assuming the stag do was a one off.

CharlotteCollinsislost · 07/11/2012 14:49

Well, usually it's work that gets in the way of time with the dcs, and that's harder to argue against. So perhaps that's why I'm focussing my anger on this occasion!

OP posts:
Floggingmolly · 07/11/2012 14:50

I wouldn't think this was an issue - he's missing a girly sleepover, so what? Confused

WorraLiberty · 07/11/2012 14:50

He is going to be there for her birthday.

I assume his friend doesn't get married very often

If her birthday was on a weekday, he'd have to go to work and she'd have to go to school...therefore missing part of it.

ClippedPhoenix · 07/11/2012 14:51

Once you have children they should be your number 1 priority in my book. His daughters birthday IS important. It IS important that he's around.

CharlotteCollinsislost · 07/11/2012 14:52

Yeah, but he's not missing the wedding for this - it's the pre-wedding booze-up. It's just a night out, isn't it?

OP posts:
picturesinthefirelight · 07/11/2012 14:52

Yanbu. Dh turned down hospitality at Liverpool fc when they played his licsl team for dd's birthday

Def would not be happy at having to sort sleepover party on my own.

CharlotteCollinsislost · 07/11/2012 14:53

He missed dc3's birth because he'd gone off on a weekend away with this friend, too... (11 days before due date)

Hmm.... Perhaps I'm getting closer to realising why I'm worked up about this! :o

OP posts:
pictish · 07/11/2012 14:54

No - it's the stag night not just a night out.
By your own reasoning, it's not your daughter's actual birthday and is 'just' a sleepover.

fishandlilacs · 07/11/2012 14:54

Loads of parents dont make it home for their kids birthdays at all. It's only one year and he will see her on the evening of her birthday.

Do you need help with the party? If so could another relative or friend help?

blackeyedsusan · 07/11/2012 14:55

why does he miss most of the day?

higgyjig · 07/11/2012 14:55

YABU and projecting.

ChippingInLovesAutumn · 07/11/2012 14:56

The thing is though, no matter whether it's a 'big deal' as a one off or not, that's not the situation here. It's clearly not a one off as far as you are concerned.

Some odd dynamics though - why on earth is he asking permission from an 8 year old?

Also, the reasons you give for him not going are to help you, not for DD's benefit and that's a totally different question altogether as well.

It sounds like you are quite unhappy in your relationship and that you need to have a good think about what you want to change, then talk to him - if it's beyond that, you need to decide what you are going to do about it :(

pictish · 07/11/2012 14:56

Pictures - why would you be pissed off at having to sort sleepover on your own? Confused

Woozley · 07/11/2012 14:59

I would miss DDs' birthdays for a hen do. But make sure I did something nice with them. TBH the hen do would probably be in the diary first, and I would arrange the party on another date.

pictish · 07/11/2012 15:00

Same here Woozley.

WorraLiberty · 07/11/2012 15:01

Yeah, but he's not missing the wedding for this - it's the pre-wedding booze-up. It's just a night out, isn't it?

Yes, and he's entitled to go on it without being made to feel as though he need to 'choose' between that and his DD.

He doesn't, he'll be attending both the stag do and her birthday.

Are you being totally honest with yourself just out of interest? I mean is there a part of you that just doesn't like stag do's and doesn't really want him going on it?

JenaiMarrHePlaysGuitar · 07/11/2012 15:02

Missing the sleepover is not even remotely a big deal, missing most of the Sunday is.

Why can't he come back on Sunday (the actual day of his daughter's birthday) morning?

CharlotteCollinsislost · 07/11/2012 15:04

Yeah, you're probably right, Worra - I don't like stag do's and I didn't like my own hen do. I certainly have ishoos. Just not quite sure where the issue lies in this situation!

OP posts:
CharlotteCollinsislost · 07/11/2012 15:05

It's somewhere overseas (I forget where Blush - Portugal?) so he's reliant on flights.

OP posts:
MimiSunshine · 07/11/2012 15:11

Ok lets be honest here. This is about your feelings not your daughters.

If you?re asking AIBU to be annoyed my husband gets to go off on a fun weekend away when I?m going to be solely responsible for a bunch of 9 year olds overnight then the answer is no. If you then tried to stop him going for no other reason than ?well, he could put the other dcs to bed, I suppose? then the answer is yes (IMO).

If you don?t get to go away with friends and this is about you putting family before 1st, 2nd and 3rd and feeling like he doesn?t then maybe you need to re-evaluate your friend?s, family, personal time balance.

Personally I wouldn?t be reinforcing with your daughter that it?s ok to expect a multi-day festival of fun every birthday, an ex friends parents did this and she actually insisted that I take a day off work to celebrate her birthday. Not the reason we aren?t friends but symptomatic of her selfish behaviour. Sometimes even parents can?t be there to celebrate birthdays, it?s not a milestone one and hopefully this stag do is a once in a life time event where as your daughters birthday isn?t. Especially when she?ll be wanting as little interaction with her ?embarrassing? parents as much as possible.

And JenaiMarrHePlaysGuitar really? Surely it?s the responsibility of the parent to decide if they make the date not the organiser to work around an 8 / 9 year old. And what if that was the only date everyone else could do? In this case the husband said the weekend would be ?awkward? therefore doable but tricky, other people said it was the only weekend they could do. Therefore stag went with the majority, that isn?t unreasonable (godfather or not) if you try and please everyone you get nowhere.

However on the basis that the husband is starting to sound like a selfish twunt I think the issue isn?t about DD?s birthday and the stag its about the relationship and feeling like you matter to him. In his defence on the missing the birth (which I?d be mightily annoyed) people always say ?oh they?ll never arrive on time so he probably thought 11 days before due date was safe enough. However why didn?t you put your foot down and say I?m not happy about you going away in the few weeks leading up to the birth? If you did and he ignore you then you really have bigger fish to fry than a sleepover.

Numberlock · 07/11/2012 15:14

He missed dc3's birth because he'd gone off on a weekend away with this friend

So this is the issue then. How long ago was this?

And how often do you go away with your friends?