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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Please help me deal with my son, 13, dating a girl at school

228 replies

User183737 · 20/07/2018 07:22

Hi
I need help as my experience if relationships is one violent marriage and a violent father. Thats it.
My son has a mobi phone and last night it flashed up a message from a girl saying she had won an award. To a club he has been begging to go to and he now starts next week.
There were also messages between them where they tell each other how wonderful they are, 'something' happened at school and he asked to kiss her but she said she wasnt ready, he said fine i will wait as i like you.
She has been asking to meet him before/after club as her dad lives near us-divorced parents.
Im happy he will go to club but pissed off he hasnt been honest about why. I also dont let my kids hang about the streets so wont be letting him see her after club. He also likes to go to school early so am stopping this.
Im concerned at his age about him having a relationship, i feel it is inappropriate and want to discourage it. I also feel discussing their kiss etc on whatsapp is trouble.i feel if they argue, he will be blamed. He hasnt done anything wrong and the messages are quite sweet but i feel a bit sickened that he hasnt been honest about it. Also that i cant trust him.
He is my eldest, i dont know what to do, he doesnt know ive seen the messages. I didnt want to invade his privacy by reading them but also dont want to let things go un noticed as he us so young. He gets time alone at home now but am going to stop this as she hangs around here apparently and has been asking to come round which will be an obvious no way.
Should i ban his phone? Stop him going to club? My mum shamed me into not being with boys, said it was disgusting, i also got bullied for being too ugly for relationships so if anyone were interested in me (they never have been or are), then i would know they were taking the piss. Im aware shaming him will make him hide his behaviour.
I honestly dont know what to do. To be honest im horrified and pissed off which is probably unreasonable which is why im asking for advice here.
Thanks in advance

OP posts:
Potato2242 · 20/07/2018 08:20

It's not like he's marrying her. This is normal. Let him have his freedom just so long as he isn't out till 9 everynight

User183737 · 20/07/2018 08:21

Im not sure i trust any man not to hurt any woman or child. I just want him to avoid the opportunity. I know thats bad.
Yes i think he knows because i accidentally moved his phone plus i clicked on an unopened message. I regret it now. I also asked why he wanted to get to school so early (an hr before).
I did say i hope he has a lovely day and i love him. Im trying to behave normally. Im in tears now. I just wish they could stay aged 8 ir something.

OP posts:
SoyDora · 20/07/2018 08:23

I just want him to avoid the opportunity. I know thats bad

Not ‘bad’ per se, but completely unfeasible. You can’t keep him away from women for life. And if you even try, it’s going to push him further and further away.
Look at it this way, would you rather he sees her for half an hour after the club when you know about it, or have him meet up with her in secret because he knows you don’t approve? Because he will.

ExFury · 20/07/2018 08:23

He’s not going to be able to avoid the opportunity to hurt a woman his whole life - and nor should he. You just have to have the belief that he’ll be like the majority of men and will choose not to hurt a woman or child.

IsTheRainEverComingBack · 20/07/2018 08:24

You need to get counselling for your feelings, call the GP today and when you see them ask for referrals to counselling. You can’t carry on like this.

Zfactorstar · 20/07/2018 08:25

If you want to have any relationship with your son when he grows up (and he's only 5 years away from being an adult) you need to sort yourself out and get help now. I've known people whose parents acted like you, and they have no relationship with them for their own sanity. Is that what you want?

HemanOrSheRa · 20/07/2018 08:25

You're doing great OP! If it's any help, I spent a lot of time with my ear pressed up to DS's bedroom door when he had a girlfriend and they were face timing each other constantly Smile.

PaulHollywoodsSexGut · 20/07/2018 08:26

Can I ask a few frank questions?

CBT is usually £60/session. Can you afford say £240/month on therapy? There is a “Counselling Directory” online. If you feel strong enough to look, you can filter on therapists specialising in some of the terrible experiences you’ve had.

If you don’t feel strong enough to examine your past, could you speak to the GP? He or she may prescribe or alternatively recommend non drug therapy to help you.

I feel for you so hard right now. So hard.

Anonymumm · 20/07/2018 08:26

I have to be completely honest, I think that, especially given the pressure of being a 'kid' these days, this sounds all very innocent and sweet - you said yourself, the messages between them are very sweet, and he has respected her boundaries in terms of a 'kiss' - so credit to you, it sounds like you have raised, and are raising a wonderful son.

If you impose boundaries, ban his phone, ban him from club, stop him going to school early, etc. you are in effect punishing him when, effectively, he hasn't done anything wrong.

You spoke about how your Mother approached things with you when you were younger, this was obviously not the most positive approach, but I suppose we can look at it in terms of being a 'generational' thing, and I daresay she did this to protect you, on many levels, but it had a negative effect - you speak about being bullied because you were too ugly for relationships - yet you have had a relationship, and have children - so the bullies were wrong - but this also had a negative effect on you, all at a time in our lives when you're stuck between not being a child, but not being an adult.

I wonder whether this is unbeknownst playing on your subconscious, and causing you to react the way that you are - you said that you are horrified and pissed off which is probably unreasonable - but I think there are more layers to this than you realise and that it has a lot more to do with you, and your experiences, than those of your Son - he is experiencing something that you didn't at that age; if you let him experience it, then you're going against what your Mum would have done - yet, in effect, if you impose all these bans on him, you're not saying it's 'disgusting', but you are sending out a negative message to him, and are, ultimately, saying it's wrong.

I don't see it as him being deceitful, I see it as his first love, and it all sounds very innocent and sweet (and anything beyond that will have been talked about at school, and perhaps you can have a wee chat with him if this is what you're also worrying about) and I don't see him going to the club, just because of her, they have a shared interest, let him enjoy it.

Don't let on you've read his messages, you'll betray his trust, and then he really may start hiding things from you.

You've been through a lot yourself, in terms of your own relationships, and experiences - don't let them define who you are, or how you treat your son - look at the positives - you've raised this lovely lad, who is a real credit to you, and that's testament to you, as his Mum.

I came across a lovely saying lately:

"we give our children roots, and wings - roots to know where home is, and wings to fly away and exercise what's been taught them"

Don't clip his wings, let him soar.

Newsofas · 20/07/2018 08:27

Also OP do pick him up from the cinema he is only 13. At the knife and gun crime talk I went to led by the police they said we need to set boundaries for our kids. They also said we should have location trackers on their phones whist we as parents are paying for their phones - for safety reasons not to monitor them. We also need to monitor their use of the phones and check them. So what I’m trying to say is give your son reasonable boundaries but he is only 13 and I think it is perfectly ok not to want him hanging around the streets etc. Encourage him in his new club. It will lead to lots of new friendships.

Bouledeneige · 20/07/2018 08:27

OP I agree with everyone else that you need to let your son lead his life and enjoy himself. All of his behaviour sounds fine to me.

Try not to invade and allow him some privacy - if he knows you've read his texts then you should apologise. If he doesn't know don't tell him.

As for roaming the streets - how is he going to learn to be independent if you drop him off everywhere by car? My kids are very lucky to have friends locally so always walk or get buses to and from their friends houses, cafes, cinemas, clubs. I occasionally go and pick them up if its very late but normally don't. And now again they will be chatting with their pals in the street - its something I do so I'm not sure why they cant. They might also decide to pop round to friends houses and do things spontaneously - why does it matter? I dont really understand why they either have to be at your house or at a club or in the car. Relax, allow him some freedom and independence. He will respect you more if you trust him. He sounds like he's worthy of trust.

He's not his father.

wellBeehivedWoman · 20/07/2018 08:28

There is a lot going on here OP that isn't really related to your son. You need to look to your own behaviour, not his, and try to find some way forward.

It's very unhealthy for you to not want to invest in his education because he'll meet a girl one day. The truth is he almost certainly will one day meet someone and set up a life of his own. That's a good thing! You don't want him living at home with no relationships when he's 40.

He's also still a long way from sexual maturity and it's ok for you to have a conversation with him about not having sex before age 16 - and when the time comes you can make it a rule that he can't have sex in your house. But you can't punish a 13 year old for the fact that one day he will be an adult male. That can only lead to terrible issues.

NotAsGreenAsCabbageLooking · 20/07/2018 08:29

I think you need to calm down and step back to see the bigger picture.

You and your son had a horrendous start in life, what could have turned into years of further abuse and your son having your ex as a ‘role model’ actually turned into you getting out of that, and raising a your boy into a sweet, polite, respectful young man.

He has earned your trust imo, he will have his heart broken at some point, just as he’ll probably break someone else’s.. buheart from your description of him, it won’t be with malice. It’ll just be a normal teenage experience as they find their feet.

The girl incidentally also sounds sweet, it’s lovely to see a girl can say confidently that she’s not ready, and to have that accepted.

It sounds like you’ve done an amazing job with him, just be there to guide him.. he’s not doing anything wrong.

Dontknowwhatimdoing · 20/07/2018 08:30

Have you had any counselling OP? If not I really think it would be a good idea. It sounds like you are understandably struggling with what has happened to you a the hands of men in the past. Your DS sounds like a lovely boy, and you have to separate how you relate to him, to how other men have been.

SharpLily · 20/07/2018 08:31

You do need to get some help for your own issues - the fact that you know you have them is the first, massive step. I don't think policing his phone is bad at his age but you now have to work really hard to not let him see what your true feelings are. It sounds like you are worried that he will turn into the kind of man your husband and father are/were, but it is within your power to stop that from happening - and from the sounds of those messages he is nothing like that anyway.

Talk to him, be open, let him know you have had bad experiences (without going into too much detail) and explain how and why it is so important to be respectful to women. You have an opportunity here and it could go one of two ways - either you drive him away, close him down, make him feel he is bad and dirty and skew his view of male/female relationships for the rest of his life, or you develop an open and understanding relationship with your son and help to guide him. It's a big responsibility and you shouldn't feel you can do it all alone. Have you any close friends or family members in real life you can talk to about any of this? Does your son have a decent male role model you can co-opt to speak to him if it's too difficult for you?

I think the most important thing is to seek some counselling for you. Oh, and the 'roaming the streets' thing is sounding a little extreme. Obviously you don't want him to turn into some feral hooligan but walking to and from his school, clubs and other activities is not quite the same as vandalising the high street and terrorising innocent citizens. It's time he needs to become an independent person with his friends/girlfriend.

SandyFagina · 20/07/2018 08:31

I think you need to speak to someone about how you're feeling.

In the nicest possible way you're going to do real damage to your son if you don't.

Potato2242 · 20/07/2018 08:31

You need therapy hun. And soon, otherwise you'll end up kicking your son onto the street for your own issues when he's done nothing apart from grow up

Anonymumm · 20/07/2018 08:36

I've just read your other reply after I posted - I agree with what others have said - please concentrate on getting some help for yourself - go to your Drs, or if that's too overwhelming please call someone like MIND, but please make sure you do - this situation is perhaps open up old wounds that you need help in healing - take good care of yourself - and please do phone someone today

www.mind.org.uk/information-support/helplines/

byanyothernamerose · 20/07/2018 08:37

Please go to counselling OP. The way you talk about your son is not normal and I understand that it is because of your past but that is not fair on him. Let him be the teenager he is. Teach him respect and the meaning of consent and he will be fine. But first thing is to speak to your GP and get the help you need.

Gottokondo · 20/07/2018 08:37

You need some help to work through your own issues before you sabotage your kids chance to have a happy and healthy relationship. I don't think you know what is normal in relationships and unless you get it sorted out you will just carry it over to your children.

Please read the above again. Your child is being absolutely normal, you are not (understandably). I think that the best thing for you to do regarding your son is nothing. He is being normal. Your extreme reaction will change his normal view of a relationship and that is bad. You might want to look into therapy for ypurself, I think that you could benefit from that.

wellBeehivedWoman · 20/07/2018 08:39

Also want to say that despite the awful experiences in your past your son clearly does have a good understanding of consent and boundaries as shown by the discussion of the kiss - so you are doing lots of things right and should be commended. If you need some outside help to get you through the next stage that's ok - it doesn't mean you're a bad mother. It shows you're doing right by your kids.

GahWhatever · 20/07/2018 08:40

I second what pps said about trying to avoid projecting your issues onto his relationships. There's a middle way between letting him roam the street in a hoodie gang and just letting him grow up.

He wants to see her before school. Let him.
He wants to see her at a club. Let him.
He wants to take her to the cinema. Let him.

He naturally is growing up and wants a bit more freedom and independence. Enable this: for example, you want to drop and collect from the cinema. Arrange to pick them both up after the film but give them burger money and an hour or two to hang out before you collect. Enable a shopping trip: wandering the shops or visiting a trampoline park or climbing wall and going for a coffee is independent but not 'roaming the streets'. He sounds lovely, a young gentleman and so sweet to her. Enable the relationship in a hands off but subtly guiding way.

UpstartCrow · 20/07/2018 08:42

User183737

CBT is free on the NHS, just go see your GP and tell them what you said here.
You don't seem to be able to separate your indoctrination from your children, and that's not healthy for either of you.

Sallystyle · 20/07/2018 08:47

I agree that you are going to do damage to your son if you don't get some/more professional help for this. Your fear comes across very strongly and whilst understandable maybe, it is very concerning.

When my boys were 13 they had girlfriends, all quite innocent and they did and still do 'roam the streets' as you put it.

Your son is doing what every teen does, he is doing nothing wrong. He isn't being dishonest, he is entitled to a little privacy and most 13 years old are embarrassed to tell their mums about a girlfriend at the start.

I am basically repeating everything everyone else said. Please get help OP Thanks

0ccamsRazor · 20/07/2018 08:47

You sound as though you need to have counselling Op, your thoughts are not healthy.

You also need to stop being controlling with your ds. Let him be innocent and stop putting your unhealthy thoughts onto him.