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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to think dh is prioritising his kids over ours?

225 replies

FigRolls · 17/11/2013 00:02

Dh has recently reestablished contact with his children due to my encouragement, which is great and they are very happy. However, without any discussion with me he's agreed that he'll visit for tea every Tuesday and have his children every single weekend he's not working (he works shifts) as well as during all annual leave. This means our 6 year old will no longer be able to do the extra curricular activity she adores on Tuesdays as we wouldn't be able to travel there as he'd have the car. It also means a 2.5 mile walk home from school during winter with our toddler also who detests her pushchair. It means no more weekends away as his children have to be home by a certain time on Sundays and cannot be collected til Sat lunchtime. It means no more holidays as dh won't challenge his ex to ensure he can take kids on holiday. It means dd having to give up her only other extra curricular activity on Sat mornings too as he'll have the car to fetch his children. So dd gives up both activities, no longer gets weekends away or days out yet his children get both with their mum and dh accommodates their activities. Also, my sister lives 3 hours away and I cannot drive that far due to health issues. Therefore, dh making this agreement means never being able to travel to see her again. I wholeheartedly believe contact with his children should be a priority but surely our children and life should be given some consideration too? AIBU?

OP posts:
Alibabaandthe40nappies · 17/11/2013 10:01

Suburban - I know but I saw another thread from the same OP yesterday saying that she had a 6 year old from a previous relationship, and a toddler with her current DH.

If he has taken on the role as her father then he needs to consider her needs equally alongside those of his own children.

But all the people saying that the child missing out on all the activities will be benefitting from a relationship with her siblings, well she won't.

SuburbanRhonda · 17/11/2013 10:01

Me, too, nanny, and as I said upthread, if this isn't resolved, I can see plenty more of that kind of thoughtlessness coming the OPs way in future.

SuburbanRhonda · 17/11/2013 10:04

Oh, I see, alibaba, I haven't seen the other thread.

I think the DH, in his efforts to make up for not seeing his DCs for so long, is going completely the other way and acceding to everything his ex has asked for, thinking, as a lot of posters on here seem to, that the OP should just suck it up.

Joysmum · 17/11/2013 10:07

surburbanrhonda I agree 100%

I think he's been thoughtless and needs to fully appreciate how thoughtless he's been whilst been reassured that this isn't about seeing his other children, just about how best to do so without negatively impacting anyone else and the importance of discussing fully any family decisions before reaching a conclusion.

I too would be most pissed off about not being in the loop.

basgetti · 17/11/2013 10:08

The 6 year old is not her DH's child, it is clear from other threads but she calls him Dad.

OP your DH seems to go from one extreme to the other. He has ignored his older DC for months and you have had to actively force him to sort out contact. Now he has done it without any discussion or thought for the impact on you. I doubt he will stick to the plan anyway in the long term, poor kids. He sounds useless.

Jinty64 · 17/11/2013 10:09

You both need to sit down and discuss who has to be where on each day and work out how it is going to happen. You will need to use a taxi for her activity on a Saturday unless there is public transport or it is walkable. You won't need this on the days dh is working. Could dh drop you off at her activity before he sets off to get the children and you would just need a taxi back?

Tuesdays - could you walk to the school, pick her up and get public transport/taxi home. Do you know any of the other parents who might take her on a Tuesday (either home from school or to her activity) if you paid towards their fuel. When is her activity, is it near the school, do you need to come home in between.

It is a pain and he shouldn't have agreed to anything without speaking to you first but, where there's a will there's a way, and I'm sure you can work something out.

janey68 · 17/11/2013 10:12

There is certainly the need for discussion about how you feel... But in the meantime I think there are practical adjustments you need to make so that things run more smoothly.

Eg: look at lift sharing or using taxis/ car hire so that some of the activities can still happen. In the longer term you probably need to find a way of funding two cars; realistically to meet the need of both sets of children it'll have to happen. And tbh that's the situation for many families juggling jobs and other commitments. The second car could be a really cheap runaround , especially as you only drive shorter distances anyway

Re: your sister: why can't she visit you? Or meet half way? I don't think you can blame your DH that he's not able to take on a 3 hour drive for you to always go to her.

Longer term again, would a house move be sensible, to either get you nearer to dh's other children, or at least somewhere with decent public transport links? Your DH is a father for life... This isn't something which is going to change and it may make life easier all round to make changes which accommodate everyone's needs

catsmother · 17/11/2013 10:29

Of course you're not being unreasonable. He's been extremely selfish and arrogant IMO - and that does not mean that I disapprove of him trying to re-establish contact with his older children, rather that he has a responsibility towards ALL his children and shouldn't therefore be making any sort of unilateral decision where only some of his children get to enjoy activities while his youngest is effectively sacrificed to enable the older ones to carry on with what they enjoy.

He is supposed to be in a partnership. Any decision he therefore makes which will affect his wife should be discussed with her up front. How can anyone feel doing anything other is acceptable in an equal relationship .... no matter what the decision relates to ?

Those respondents who mention "compromise" have, I think, forgotten what compromise means. It does NOT mean rolling over and letting someone walk all over you (and your child). I've always thought that a compromise is when two or more parties who have different opinions, needs or wants, all accept that they cannot have exactly what they want but instead negotiate and discuss the situation so that as far as possible each party ends up with some of what they want - even if it's not their ideal. It's about give and take .... you "give away" a little of what you'd ideally like to have to minimise negative effects on someone else - be they hurt, inconvenience, disappointment, expense or whatever. No-one's left 100% happy - but that's far far better than one party being 100% unhappy.

And yes, while it's important that the 6 year old has a relationship with her siblings and yes, taking things to the extreme, that is arguably more important than activities - the proposed arrangements are absolutely unfair. If the sibling relationship is so important why is the father only concerned that his older children's routine must remain unaltered ? Surely, with that argument, they too would apparently appreciate the importance of a sibling relationship over and above losing one of their activities (OP states they have activities all nights except Tues) whereas the youngest seems to have just one activity which she will now be forced to miss.

As others have said, this man is letting his child pay the price for what HE wants, and hasn't made any attempt himself at any sort of compromise - and obviously hasn't had the basic courtesy to discuss with his wife pretty major stuff which will have a significant impact on her and their youngest, thus not even giving her the opportunity to discuss and maybe suggest alternative ways round of facilitating contact. I very much doubt that the 6 year old will happily give up something she enjoys and actually understand that it's apparently all worth it so she can have a relationship with her older sibs. I'm sure she won't understand at all and if her dad comes at it from that angle will in fact almost certainly resent the older kids which will be a great start won't it for a fledgling relationship ..... and then of course, as she gets older and starts to understand more, will wonder why the heck the older kids do multiple activities every week yet she was told she could no longer do one.

I also agree that if he's so arrogant now and seemingly so scared to "upset" the ex, that this doesn't bode well for the future. Logistically it's always going to be tricky to blend the needs of two different households where children flit between them both, even when all parties are mature, fair and communicative. If, however, you have a situation where one (or more) parties is unreasonable, stubborn and/or likes causing maximum disruption just for the sake of it then that issue is going to be ten times worse. Very few women would be content with a situation where the needs/wants of one household and/or one set of children are always put above the other - it would drive you mad and cause huge resentment.

I think you need to have a very serious talk with him - what he's "agreed" to with a solicitor isn't binding until it's rubber stamped by a judge. This thing about him not being able to alter this in case the ex withdraws contact again doesn't make sense. You haven't explained the full background to this ..... has he actually applied to court for a contact order, or has what's happened so far been as a result of mediation, or just correspondence with a solicitor ? Whatever the ex wants can't just be imposed on him no matter what .... if this had gone to court and the ex said he's not seeing them at all because he won't pick them up on a Tues (even though he could see them any other day) I think she'd get short shrift, because it's all about true compromise. Most judges would probably suggest that the midweek contact is ditched in favour of the weekends instead if Tuesday is such a sticking point.

I do get that he feels guilty - though not sure what the background is and whose fault it's been that he didn't see the kids previously. However, the only fair way to sort this out is for him to set out what he wants, and for you to set out what you want ..... and then you work together to see how all, or at least some of that can be achieved. It shouldn't be all or nothing with him getting everything he wants. And to be honest, as it's him altering the status quo (regardless of whether or not what some people think should have been happening up until now) I'm inclined to feel there's rather more onus on him to present realistic solutions - such as how an extra car might be financed, researching public transport and/or taxis, sharing pick-ups from school with another parent, and addressing the issue of how you'll get to see your family if you literally can't drive that far without his help.

If he absolutely refuses to do any of this then I'm afraid I'd be thinking very hard about the future. He's basically drawing a line between his kids and clearly prioritising some above others. That'd be a dealbreaker for many.

catsmother · 17/11/2013 10:36

Okay, X-posted with those saying 6 year old isn't his. Nonetheless, the same argument some posters have put to the OP more or less saying "you knew what you were getting into" when she got together with a man with kids, also applies to him. I.e. he "knew what he was getting into" when he got together with a woman who already had a child. In other words, both of them need to consider the needs and wants of all the children concerned. The 6 year old suddenly doesn't get disregarded because she's not his.

LuciusMalfoyisSmokingHot · 17/11/2013 10:37

Its a shame that a 6 year old is making sacrifices because of her fathers lack of contact with his older children, its gonna build up a lot of resentment, a 6 year old isnt gonna have the maturity to think, she has siblings to play with, shes gonna miss out on something she loves doing, that will be what she focuses on.

LuciusMalfoyisSmokingHot · 17/11/2013 10:40

Also from what i can gather from the OP, the 6 yr old wont have much contact with these older siblings, because on tuesday hes going to his children, and he will have them when he isnt working, so that could only be a weekend a month, depending on shift pattern.

IfNotNowThenWhen · 17/11/2013 10:46

So the 6 year old is not his? Hmm. I dunno. I havnt read OPs other threads. I suppose just based on this, It seems like her husband is getting over exited, and will calm down. Maybe not. I feel sorry for all of the children really. It's crap being a resented step child, and it's crap being sidelined for previously existing children. He does need to get a grip.
Why did he have no contact before?

NumptyNameChange · 17/11/2013 10:46

realistically if you get together with a man who has children who he doesn't have contact, allow your child to bond to them, have a further child with them then you can fully expect that you and your child/ren will also run into his messiness/immaturity/selfishness etc at some point.

you had to talk him into trying to have contact with his own children.

it's not like this man has hidden his inadequacies as a human being.

expecting you and your toddler to walk five miles whilst he takes the car away on a day when it is clearly needed for the two of you is arse-tastic. but then you knew he was an arse.

WooWooOwl · 17/11/2013 10:47

Your DH is a twat, but not because he is taking the car when you want it, but because he shouldn't have had four children split across two homes when he couldn't afford it. If he could afford to pay half towards the costs of you having a car as well as being able to fully run his own, then it wouldn't be a problem.

I don't understand why he can't just collect his children after you've used the car to collect your dd from her thing. If he's had next to no contact up until now, then why can't the ex just continue to accommodate her dd until your DH can get there to pick her up?

The Tuesday thing is fair enough. These are just normal inconveniences tat come with having children with someone who already has that commitment, or with being born to a parent that has given you siblings in a different home.

Is there anything you can do to help your family be able to afford another car?

NumptyNameChange · 17/11/2013 10:47

it's crap having a crap dad full stop

Worried3 · 17/11/2013 10:52

I'd be furious that he made these arrangements without discussing them with me, if I was in your position. I'd also be cross that he hadn't thought about the implications for you and your DD as well- not just the extra-curricular activities, but also the long walk to/from school in winter. It's not on, and really disrespectful.

I'd also point out to him that if it's not ok for his DC to miss out on extra-curricular activities, then it's not on for your DD to miss out on all of hers either.

Of course it's great he's got contact with his DC, and that your DD will get to know her half-siblings- but if it carries on this way, with your DH guilt meaning you and his other DCs needs get totally ignored, it is not likely to lead to harmonious relations between you and DH, or DC and DSC.

I'd ask him what he proposes to do about your long walk on a Tuesday? And also about DDs activities, and also no holidays. It's not good enough for him to make these arrangements without any thought for the impact on others, and then you have to deal with the fall out alone. He made the mess, he ought to have some input into how to fix it.

TheWomanTheyCallJayne · 17/11/2013 10:55

I would be compromising by saying fine you have the car at weekends but I'm having it tuesdays. Sort out your mess and if it's difficult perhaps next time the lesson is involve me in discussions about our lives.
I don't think he gets to come along and tell you 'this is how it will be' and make your life harder and upset your daughter.

NumptyNameChange · 17/11/2013 10:56

why would anyone be surprised that he was able to forget totally about the OP's dd's needs? he forgot about those of his first children well enough.

surely there is zero surprises here?

LuciusMalfoyisSmokingHot · 17/11/2013 10:57

it's crap having a crap dad full stop

Yep, i know how that hurts, and im 30 year old, watching my 6 year old go through the same.

HappyMummyOfOne · 17/11/2013 11:34

You are both being unreasonable, him by not checking re dds activity and you for obviously resenting the contact time. Its about whats best for the children.

You knew he had children when you got involved, they already miss out on seeing their dad daily and now you dont want them there as its means you have to walk or cant go away. Surely you would all just go away as a whole family and if you cant juggle with one car them get a cheap runaround for those overlap times. I cant imagaine tellig a child "no you cant see your dad today as i need he car to save walking". Its not their fault you picked an activity/school some disatance away.

Nanny0gg · 17/11/2013 11:41

Its not their fault you picked an activity/school some distance away.

But unfortunately, they weren't in the picture at the time.

And it's only due to the OP's encouragement that they're back in the picture now.

LuciusMalfoyisSmokingHot · 17/11/2013 11:47

And its not OP's fault, that her OH didnt have contact with them, nor is it her fault that he made those arrangments without discussing it.

She is the reason he now has contact with his older children.

Halfrek · 17/11/2013 11:49

This is very unreasonable and selfish of him.

WooWooOwl · 17/11/2013 11:49

If its only due to OPs encouragement that they are back on the scene now, then the fact that she had to persuade someone to see their own children should have given her a clue that he is an arse.

It should also have given her plenty of time to consider that there are going to be inevitable consequences that impact her own and her children's lives.

A child having regular contact with their father is more important than a child doing an extra curricular activity at the end of the day, so OP is just going to have to suck it up.

LuciusMalfoyisSmokingHot · 17/11/2013 11:52

Yeah, sadly theres a 6 year old who will have to suck it up aswell.

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