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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To have told him to not come to dinner?

17 replies

PennyPeregrine · 08/04/2018 17:44

DSS (15) has always been a tricky character but he's hit puberty with a vengeance and the wheels seem to be falling off. Today when DS(5) tried to follow him into a room DSS shut it with DS halfway through and kept pressing until DS starting screaming. DH had a go at DSS telling him how unacceptable it was etc. DSS appears to not care one bit. When called for dinner he came down and grunted he wasn't hungry. While I asked him if he wanted to talk about what happened he was texting and smirking at his phone and generally ignoring me. I finally said you don't need to eat dinner with us if you aren't going to eat and will just glare at everyone. He didn't answer and just walked off. Please tell me this gets better!

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HannaPintura · 08/04/2018 18:17

He sounds awful, beyond any normal teenage angst. So disrespectful. How is his dad for disciplining him? Is the DS he tried to trap aged 5?

Bluntness100 · 08/04/2018 18:21

Ok you've got a problem there. Hurting his little brother shows a cruel streak and is abnormal. He's also deeply disrespectful to you as parents.

You will need to sit down and talk about how To deal with this. Then talk to him. Right now he has no boundaries, no repurcussions, no discipline, and what he's going to be as mature adult is concerning.

GinAndToast · 08/04/2018 18:28

I have a teenager and a younger child too and there is NO WAY this is normal.

Who pays for his phone? It's it's you, take it away. You go for what will hurt him most and that's his mobile phone and his privacy.

He can earn it back by being a decent member of the family and that is NOT hurting his little sibling.

You really need to address this, but I imagine it's part of a bigger picture of his relationship with you and his sibling(s).

You CANNOT sweep this under the carpet. It is not "normal", no way no how.

Bluntness100 · 08/04/2018 18:33

How is the relationship with your husband? Is there something there about him not being his dad? Does he have a relationship with his biological father? Could you having another child with your husband have some way threatened him?

Whatever is causing this, you need to set boundaries and there needs to be repurcussions for bad behaviour. Telling him off or letting him leave the table isn't going to cut it.

However what you describe isn't normal teenage puberty driven angst.

PennyPeregrine · 08/04/2018 19:05

DH is his father. We see DSS and DSD every other weekend and always have. DH tried keeping the phone but his mum just bought him a new one. He just waits the weekend out in his room and storms off on the Monday morning.

He has always bullied DSD. It's always been an issue. DH has pulled him up on it for years but their mum doesn't see an issue and says they are as bad as each other. DSD is one of the most mild children I've ever known. And she's 9 so a full 6 years younger than him.

DH is at a loss and so am I. He refuses to engage over how he feels. He's not a monster. This is the first time he's hurt DS to that extent. DS can be really annoying and hound DSS to play with him but we've told him to just come get us and we will sort out DS. He tends to get aggressive with the younger ones when he's angry about something else. I don't know what repercussions we can set really. We can't take his phone because his mum bought it.

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Bluntness100 · 08/04/2018 20:04

Ah ok, sorry, I misread. He's not your son.

It's up to his father and his mother to resolve. Clearly they are not aligned on their parenting which is confusing for him and is what is permitting his behaviour , in addition he obviously doesn't want to be at your home, for whatever reason. Does he maybe blame his father for the marriage to his mother breaking up and him leaving?

What he's displaying is anger, resentment, for both having to come to your home and the fact you have another child.

HollowTalk · 08/04/2018 20:08

Could you alternate their weekends, so that your step daughter gets the chance to have some time away from him?

Dancingleopard · 08/04/2018 20:25

This isn’t normal at all.

If one of my dc did this to their younger sibling a full apology would be expected. His father should have spoken to him upstairs and talked to him about his actions, if he would not or could not apologise he would be taken back to his mothers.

Your dh has to talk and talk and talk to him about why he is behaving like this. Talk to him about his responsibility to his younger siblings and why he is needed to be s good role model. Talk to him about why he feels he needs to sneer and be nasty to you.

There is a lot going on in that lad head and it needs dealing with not just brushing under the carpet

Adventuritis · 08/04/2018 22:12

Does he behave this way at home? Or is he just fed up with the arrangements. Surely by 15 they have other things to do rather than an enforced visit to parents every other weekend. My three 14,17 and 26 make their own arrangements to see their dad when it suits them and everyone is happy. Maybe he needs to have his views taken into account and will then be less angry about his life being controlled. Not saying the behaviour is ok at all but maybe meet him half way.

clairedelalune · 09/04/2018 00:10

How worrying for you. As a teacher, i have dealt with lots of teenagers and their families with similar concerns- it is more common than you would think, particularly where blended families are concerned.
I think there are two issues here, the violence/bullying and the cause of it. The behaviour needs consequences, longer term the causes need tackling.
Can you sit down first with your dh, the boy's mum and if she has a partner, them also? Take a step back from the situation and look at it from the bigger picture - this might be painful, but as adults taking a look at your own behaviours also. While it sounds dramatic to call it so, for a child, parents splitting up is a 'traumatic' event, and therefore the child has experienced trauma. He has experienced significant loss. Things to think about therefore as a group of adults (not to answer here on a public forum)

  • how old was he when parents split?
-what was the cause of the split?
  • how long before you and his father got together? How long before new baby born? (ditto if this applies also to his mum and her life post split)
  • what is his role in the families? Does he have any say? It sounds like he is jealous of his younger sibling and half sibling. Does he get significant quality time with his parents without feeling like an added thought?
  • what's he like when at his mum's?
-is he like this at school?
  • like a pp said, could he have more flexibility around his contact time so it isn't seen as a chore but rather something he and his dad want to do? That way he can maintain his social relationships too (e.g could he be cheesed off that he is missing out on something this weekend as he has got to spend it at dad's).
  • is he compared to his angelic sister by everyone? (most marking case i dealt with involved the 'devil child' and her 'gorgeous baby half sister' - these were the terms used in front of the children in a meeting about the former's behaviour in school).
  • how could all of the above have actually affected him?

Once you have established a few home truths about everything, all of you need to sit down and discuss it with him and ask him also what he is going to bring to the table as a member of the families. You could use some of your own home truths as conversation starting points, but it needs to be done in a 'we cannot live like this, what can we do and what can you do' kind of way.

All this can run simultaneously to sanctions for his behaviour, but trying to figure out the cause will help find solutions longer term. Particularly if you can let him have some input too.

Wishing you lots of luck x

Meli1977 · 09/04/2018 02:09

That is awful. Do not leave him alone with the little one after that. I hope you manage to sort it out.

PennyPeregrine · 09/04/2018 19:07

He's finally stopped sulking quite so badly and did apologise to DS. DS is avoiding him and honestly that's probably for the best right now.

Then at dinner tonight he told us he had slapped his mum because he couldn't find his phone! DH looked ready to blow his top. There is no coparenting relationship between them and it seems like things are much worse than we realised.

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FuckItPassMeTheWine · 09/04/2018 19:24

This is awful, your step son needs some type of counselling /anger management, executing physical hurt on something that can't possibly cause him damage such as a much younger sibling displays very cruel intentions . Him slapping his mother is appalling , your child is at risk and if it was me I would say to your husband that you do not feel comfortable having him in your house for weekends when he is displaying this behaviour , very worrying indeed xx

TroubledLichen · 09/04/2018 19:32

Your poor DS, bring attacked in his own home by his step brother. I wouldn’t have the older boy in the house again when he’s hurting the little ones (your DS and DSD) it’s not fair and it’s dangerous. Your DSS should have separate contact time with his Dad until you can be confident he no longer poses a risk to the safety of the younger kids. And your DH should be speaking to his ex wife about how to proceed and to discuss anger management/therapy.

clairedelalune · 10/04/2018 00:31

Totally agree with lichen. Are there any other children involved; if not, could dsd stay with you for a while to maintain her safety?
Co-parenting needs to happen, differences need to be put aside even if that means your husband 'loses face'
You could approach social services for advice and support, they are not to be feared.
Another thought .... Is he taking anything? When doing laundry, run fingers through jeans pockets- any black dust? Any containers that hide substances? There is a market among teenagers for galse packaging.... What appear to be drinks cans, Pringle tubes, drink bottles which unscrew and in which you hide things.
Talk to the pastoral team at school, they will be able to tell you about his general demeanor in school plus they usually have a pretty good grip on causes, friendships and associations.

clairedelalune · 10/04/2018 00:32

False not galse. Is that even a word?!!!

TheCriminalMind · 10/04/2018 00:44

Jeeze, I would be all guns blazing if that happened to my son. There is no excuse for violence. Ever.
He needs help... I would contact social services and his GP (GP can often sort out counselling) but his behaviour isn’t appropriate.
No wonder his mum brought him a new phone if he’s slapping her!

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