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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to feel conflicted and confused re my dd

8 replies

sugar4eva · 31/01/2014 20:28

My dd is 15.She has met a boy and since getting to know him we have found out that he had vtraumatic early years.He was then adopted having been removed from birth family.

He seems very sweet,is helpful.He also tells significant lies such as re schooll ,his health - made up illnessess, etc to get attenton I think, and many other things .His parents have told us that he does this and that it has affected them for some time.

Dd wants to give him a chance to improve but he cant do this alone and is going to have proffesional support.

Other dc in our home fel very uncomfortable with him due to untruths.He can also come accross as arogant - which i think is low esteem-and they feel that as he has lied significantly ,which has affected dd,we should make her top seeing him

.My view is that i have to make dd priority ultimately- but that we dont just reject people. Alongside this - this is a lot for a young girl to take n and he is troubled . I am worried as am I not protecting our dd.I did think of asking her to stop seeing him but she does not want that .

I have thought about limitng him comming to our house but being kind and supportive wen he does.I will have no idea what is true and what isnt.I Have spoke to him about it and been as gentle as posible whilst saying that he needs to think about the impact of significant lies may have on dd and to try and think about her if he can . I think due to this own pain he has not thouht of her but himself so i was trying to encorage him to see the other side of things.

I have never dealt with anything like this before and my ds said he thinks that i may be being weak to allow this relationshio but i dont want to be unkind and importantly he may be more attractive if banned!!!!!!!!!!

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WaffilyVersatile · 31/01/2014 20:32

if a girl sees a burning house then 9 times out of 10 she will either go for the boy inside and try to save him or the boy who started the fire and try to change him.

Someone once said that to me when I was a teenager (and trying to change the would be fire starter) and as I have got older I realised that they were right. I think you are right in being supportive but cautious.

parakeet · 31/01/2014 21:24

You're definitely right, if you ban him, he will become more desirable and they will still find ways to meet anyway.

I think you are getting too involved. This is not about YOUR decision whether to reject him or not - it's hers. As long as she knows about his past lies she will at least be on the lookout for them again in future.

What is the worst that can happen? He will lie to her again, and cheat on her and hurt her feelings? This will almost certainly happen - if not with him, then with some other boy/man, at some point in her future. Such is life. And it's up to her to deal with it.

sugar4eva · 31/01/2014 21:29

parakeet- i know what you mean and i agree that it s right not to ban him.But one of the lies could have put dd in danger.he rang her in the early hours saying he was unwell and had not made it home and she could have gone and looked for him- in the end we all did .this was literaslly in middle of the night .i shuuder to think that she could have chosen to go and look for him indark alone-.but sensibly she idnt.

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sugar4eva · 31/01/2014 22:30

Bump . Thanks .

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phoolani · 31/01/2014 22:43

I'd talk to him again. Explain that you really like him (list his good qualities) but that you are concerned that you can't trust what he says (list some verifiable untruths) and that it makes you concerned for your daughter. Explain that you would like him much more if he told you the truth, however bad he thinks the truth may be. At the end of the day, he's still a child and lying because of lack of self-esteem etc is still a tactic to try and make people like him. Make sure he knows that telling the truth will always make you like him more. See how that goes.

sugar4eva · 31/01/2014 22:49

Phoo - your advice was almost word for word what t said to him today. That I respect he admitted re lies and that I like him and that the truth and knowing him will always be preferable even if he thinks its something I may not want to hear. I feel a bit better now and not so helpless as some of this advice seems to be telling me I'm hopefully going in right direction in difficult situation . Thankyou

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phoolani · 31/01/2014 23:26

FWIW I think you're on the best track possible in the circumstances! Your primary responsibility is obviously to your daughter, but the fact that his parents have 'warned' you about him (and I can think of perfectly legitimate reasons why they might have done so) points to the possibility that he may really benefit from an adult 'seeing him with new eyes' - IFSWIM. You're right to give him a chance to the extent that you feel you can. Hope it works out.

sugar4eva · 01/02/2014 12:00

Thankyou so much for support and another pair of eyes

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