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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To be annoyed with DSS

235 replies

LadyRussell · 25/06/2018 19:08

DSS is 22.

His mum and DH split when he was 4. DH travelled a lot with Work and his contact with DSS was patchy at times. He could have tried harder tbh. He married and had 2 more children and DSS was included in that family and contact was more regular.

After we got together 9 years ago it DSS was a teenager and we lived 6 hours away but we always paid for DSS to fly down when he wanted to in the holidays, made him welcome and made sure he could get to family events and went to see him at least 3/4 times a year on top. Even when DH was away (with the forces) I had him every summer for two weeks.

Last few times we have gone to see him he’s changed his plans last minute and cancelled or he’s kept us hanging around all day giving us no firm plans. He doesn’t bother with his dads bday or father’s day or xmas. Obviously he gets a gift from us to the same value as the other children. We never ever let him down when we were due to see him.

OH has taken the opportunity to be in the same town as DSS this week and went up yday as DSS had today off work and he took today off so they could spend the day together.

He was really looking forward to spending some time with him and travelled up yesterday. I think he was disappointed that he didn’t even get a text on father’s day.

However DSS has cancelled on him this morning to go on a fishing trip, which I think is really poor.

AIBU to think a grown man should not behave like that and he should put some effort into his relationship with his dad (they get on really well).

I feel really sad for OH.

OP posts:
LadyRussell · 25/06/2018 23:56

He was in care and joined the Navy to get out of care.

He doesn’t want to leave its his family.

OP posts:
CosmicCanary · 25/06/2018 23:57

This poster seems very familiar.

I swear they have posted before.
Last time it was cos the OH parents still spent time with the ex wife and kids as daddy was always away and OP felt put out.
Same thing OP blamed the job and he was perfect dad with no choice.

Maybe wrong though.

LadyRussell · 25/06/2018 23:57

He has not raised my kids.

OP posts:
Oswin · 25/06/2018 23:57

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

CosmicCanary · 25/06/2018 23:58

He doesn’t want to leave its his family.

He has multiple families of his own. Were they not important?

SpareASquare · 26/06/2018 00:02

So how was he supposed to have his kids at the same time?

A good father would work that out.

I DO think your DSS was rude. I can also see how/why.

Your DH was shit. He was and all the excuses in the world won't change that. He didn't put in but somehow expects to reap the benefits anyway. I suspect the women in his life have carried the responsibility for him. It has NOTHING to do with being in the 'forces'. You can ensure your child feels loved and wanted and IMPORTANT no matter what you do. Good parents know this and good parents work on this. By your own admission, he didn't. He sucked.

My own childrens father was much the same and now that they are adults he is all over them. Trouble is, it's too late. They spend time with him and talk to him on the phone when he calls but they don't have a 'bond'. They just don't. I actually feel sorry for him. The effort wasn't made when it needed to be and there just isn't the bond there should be but I really don't think he realises this. His wife, who is lovely and who the children probably like more than their dad, probably doesn't understand because his 'story' would have been a little different than not putting in the effort he should have so I'm sure she defends him to the max to her friends and family who must notice their absence from things.
They are not rude though, he just isn't a priority for them.

colditz · 26/06/2018 00:07

If he hasn’t helped rAise your kids tha means he hasn’t raised any. That’s pretty poor going for a father of three and stepfather of two.

Can you seriously not see the damage he has inflicted on this young man? Are you so blind to his ridiculous behaviour that you will blame the 22 year old son rather than the forty odd year old father?

This man has done as he pleased and the consequences have been hard. That’s NOT your step son’s fault, of his responsibility to fix.

You’re not listening at All though. “Boohoo nobody understands forces families, and other forces families are different, and it’s easier for them so don’t listen to them, my husband has magical extenuating circumstances that mean everyone should enable him and never call him out on his poor parenting”

ThistleAmore · 26/06/2018 00:12

@colditz, exactly.

Several posters (myself included) have posted about their experiences of being raised in a Services family or marrying into a Services relationship, yet the OP seems to think her OH is some kind of magical unicorn.

No.

SumerisIcumenin · 26/06/2018 00:16

If he loves his son and wants a relationship, he will keep reaching out and risking rejection, and one day his son may want a relationship. Because real parenting is like that all the fucking time. You put yourself out for your children, do your best, get blamed and accused or made to feel a failure, and you still love them. Sometimes it takes a while for them to understand, appreciate and accept the compromises that were made.
I don’t think your DH put enough effort or thought into his relationships outside The Job, aand he needs to accept the truth that there is hurt and anger he caused that might not be fixable. You flouncing around and blaming the adult child isn’t going to help. Unless your DH needs an excuse to dump him again.

SpareASquare · 26/06/2018 00:31

If he loves his son and wants a relationship, he will keep reaching out and risking rejection, and one day his son may want a relationship

Definitely.
I wrote about my children and their father above but didn't mention that my eldest does not see him at all. Ever. Unless by chance. She often dodges his calls as well. He let her down badly and she feels no need to have a relationship.
He never stops trying and I give him full credit for that. He includes her on every single invite and phones her on the same schedule as the others. Hopefully his efforts now WILL pay off eventually, she's just not there yet and, again, it's the lack of a bond due to shit parenting earlier on.

tildaMa · 26/06/2018 00:31

He doesn’t want to leave its his family.

He already left two of his families. Start thinking what happens when he leaves the third.

LiteraryDevil1 · 26/06/2018 00:32

Having read your other posts it seems you are a very lonely person who is sad and frustrated with her life and is not happy with her husband. I don't understand why you are with him tbh. This latest post is just another example of how shit he is and how brainwashed you are into believing he's a good guy. He's not.

HoldMeCloserTonyDanza · 26/06/2018 00:37

I am completely unsurprised to read the update that the father of your children is/was also a giant loser whose abandonment of you all took you completely by surprise.

At some point you have to recognise YOU are making poor choices.

User467 · 26/06/2018 00:42

Your dss may be an adult now but he is a product of his upbringing and when that upbringing has involved feeling like you are way down the list of priorities for one of the people who you should be most inportant. A person who should have moved heaven and earth to be there and to make you feel as loved and as special as you are but didn't, then is it really any wonder that as an adult you have a slightly skewed version on how you treat people? You can't expect that as soon as a child becomes an adult that all of a sudden the damaging effects of having such an absent parent will vanish and he will have a completely balanced, fair approach to relationships. One of his key role models for how to form good relationships as a child did a very shit job and unfortunately is now feeling the consequence. Adult or not, your dh is the only one responsible for the state of his relationship with his son

Graphista · 26/06/2018 03:49

You're full of excuses! Now you're blaming the sons mother for moving (probably 'back home' for her?), and blaming the 2 ex's for not arranging contact - gimme strength!

A - it's not their responsibility

B - it being 'easier' for the women to do it is a pathetic excuse! HIS FATHER should have been making the effort - not least so the son could see the father considered the son WORTH making the effort for!

"Drive to get one child then take that child to the opposite end of the country to collect the other two then drive back to the middle of the country?" Again - as a pp has noted there is infrastructure in place to assist with this. In fact I bet if your dh made more effort the RP's would have been more supportive and willing to go the extra mile. Most do (not that they should have to). With a fortnight off, no reason he couldn't spend a week with dss and a week with child/children from 2nd family.

"Military do not pay for kids" again - I wonder where you're getting your info. I'm guessing dh. Salaries for service people in certain jobs can be pretty good, there's also a raft of benefits - they get all essential medical & dental treatment free for example. Until relatively recently there was heavily discounted travel, particularly for NRP's serving, there still is its just less good than it was. Quarters for contact are rented at a very low rate. They get paid extra allowances for a million and one reasons being away from home etc and when they're away they're not spending much if anything so no the 'he was skint' excuse isn't washing either. Strictly speaking the military don't pay DIRECTLY for serving personnel's kids BUT they do an awful lot to ensure the personnel do have enough money to be involved parents IF they CHOOSE to! Plus it's HIS responsibility to pay for his kids - even if that means him going without - plenty of RP's do!!

"She would have been given 90 days to leave married quarters. She had to move and the MOD are not helpful in those circumstances." So VERY true - been there!

Assuming, particularly given the circumstances, you haven't been involved with the dss for the whole of the last 9 years AND that you only have dh's version of events prior to that, your:

"I am well aware of how hurt he is and over the years we have gone out of our way to talk to him, include him and I have constantly taken a back seat so DSS can have time with DH alone."

Could have been - certainly as far as dss concerned - mainly for your benefit, seeing as dh didn't make enough effort before that! Why should dss trust the change? Why does it mean he has to forgive dh for the previous lack of effort simply because he's 'playing the good father' ? In dss's position I'd be cynical and suspicious too.

"and then tries to spend a week alone with his son to be fucked off and ditched." And how many times in 18 YEARS has your dh done the EXACT SAME to ds? Who was a CHILD at the time and had no say, no control in the matter?

I'm another also saying he gets more than 6 weeks leave too!

"We get very little support. ESP unaccompanied" bull! There's a good welfare support infrastructure available. If you wish to access it.

"So lovely though to see the attitude towards forces families on here." The main posters with 'attitude' you're railing against are those like me who ACTUALLY have a LOT of experience/knowledge due to being/having BEEN 'forces families' - eg I'm the great-granddaughter, granddaughter and daughter of men who served long term, I also married in. I was a 'dependant' for 27 years and worked as a civilian contractor within an area that dealt with pay, leave and 'bonuses' - tri-service too. A lot of what you've claimed, unless there's been HUGE changes since I left (less than 22 years ago so within dss' life) which I'm sure I'd have heard about from the friends and relatives I have still serving (cos they'd have been livid!) then as I said before, someone along the line isn't being completely truthful.

"And he couldn’t move jobs." All the services have facilities for moving jobs even across the services! They can take sabbaticals and all sorts! They can certainly leave at any point - it's not prison and there aren't currently conscripts!

"I remember previous posts of yours." Oh really? Same username?

"He doesn’t want to leave its his family." No! His SON is his family!!

So your dh is getting a taste of his own medicine and complaining its bitter? Tough shit! He needs to hold his nose and keep swallowing if he wants things to improve.

FrancisCrawford · 26/06/2018 05:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Shumpalumpa · 26/06/2018 06:16

He can do it now for his other kids as he lives on a base 3 hours away in the same town as his younger kids and he comes home some weekends.

Funny how he couldn't do the same for his first child Hmm

OP, you seem like a decent person. It's your DH that people have a problem with. Of course he wants a relationship with DSS now that he is an adult. It's so much easier now. They may get on well but there just isn't a bond there and it seems your DSS sees your DH as irrelevent. I can't work up much sympathy for your DH.

Mightymelon · 26/06/2018 06:30

OP you can be away a lot, hardly see your kids and not be a totally shit parent.
You can know what your kids favourite colour is and fail at arts and crafts because youre an amputee.
You can book time off when your kids start uni so you can see them graduate 4 years after.

Your husband isn’t exempt from responsibility

ArsenalsPlayingAtHome · 26/06/2018 06:35

Your DH wasn't around much for those formative years.

It's the DSS I feel sorry for, not your DH.

Incidentally, what's your DH's relationship like with the other DCa?

Do you have DCs with him?

How many DCs does he have?

BoneyBackJefferson · 26/06/2018 07:01

LadyRussel

Your DH has never been a big figure in his first child's life.

He (from what you have said) is career forces.
From 0 - 4 he was away.
From 4 till teens he was away and married with kids, so he had time.
Now he is divorced, has multiple kids and another wife.
I'm sure that he could have fitted his son in somewhere.

Even the visits that he has had have been with you and not his father.

Can you not see that your DH has played a very small part in his sons life and is now seeming to want to intrude on it only on his (your dh's) terms.

BoxsetsAndPopcorn · 26/06/2018 07:19

Maybe he should have thought about travel costs before he kept on having numerous chidren all over the place.

I find it hard that a man bought up in care would leave his first child, you'd expect them to be overly involved not the other way round to ensure the child had the best childhood.

NotTakenUsername · 26/06/2018 07:36

So lovely though to see the attitude towards forces families on here.

The attitude is not towards ‘forces families’. Nice attempt at deflection, though.

The issue is a man who was not present, already aware of the tricky situation he found himself in in terms of being a decent father. That man created two more children to whom he was equally obligated, thus spreading himself even more thinly.

THEN he abandons a second family to marry another women, who he has obligations to as a husband... 🤦‍♀️

This latest new woman then becomes a substitute for dad while he’s away. And actually thinks it’s something to be proud of that she took up two weeks of dss summer, miles from his family and friends.

I wonder if you will be so blindly supportive of this man when he discards you to create his forth family?

Tinkety · 26/06/2018 07:51

Your DH was posted 6 hours away for his job, I get that. The problem is - to your DSS - it looks like DH then chose to stay away because he prioritized you & your DC’s. If your DH had not met you, his leave time would have been spent in DSS’ hometown. Basically your DH said sorry son, I know I have a responsibility to you but I’ve met LadyRussell now so I can’t come back because her kids are in school here

MunchausensLovelyHorse · 26/06/2018 08:12

OP, I mean this kindly - it's the 'forces families' posting on here who are looking out for you, because they know that you've likely been fed a line about the leave. And that's worrying.

Your husband gets far more leave than you've said. Not only that, but he's entitled to additional leave after seafaring.

And he lives away from you, in another town, near / with his first wife and their children, using up this leave (and money) that you don't seem to know about.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if a savvy 22 year old young man has thought, Fuck all that shit - and distanced himself.

I know you'll reject this, and you'll remind me that you're good friends with first wife. But something's not right in this story.

LakieLady · 26/06/2018 08:12

He doesn’t want to leave its his family.

That says it all really. If a parent sees their colleagues as their "family", their actual family are highly likely to realise that and to be pissed off about it.

My XH and my late father were both RN, and neither of them had that attitude.