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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to consider not letting my 21 year old son move home

138 replies

OMGMyLifeIsCrazy · 11/06/2020 04:31

Just that really. My son has been out of home since he was 16 because he was literally out of control for a number of years. We have an excellent relationship despite all of this though I know he still smokes funny stuff daily. He still has a lot of issues but fortunately, he stopped most of his criminal behaviour once he turned 18. In his defence, a lot of his problems (I think) are as a result of his stepfather being narcissistic and controlling of both him and I. Stepfather is out of the picture now but I've been an emotional wreck for the last few years and I'm terrified that letting him come back to live will just makes things so much worse.

I'm usually one to put others before myself but at the moment, I'm stuggling to fix my own emotional health.

He is wanting to move back home for 3-6 months while he saves to move to a larger city. I haven't answered him about this yet and wonder if I'm being too harsh in thinking he really can't move back in at this time?

OP posts:
JRUIN · 11/06/2020 10:35

Kids can change a lot between the ages of 16 and 21, others hardly at all so what is your son like NOW OP?. Is he managing to hold down a job? Does he have good reasons for wanting to move to a bigger city, or is he just bored and fancies a change? What will he do for work once there?
Bearing in mind your mental state at the moment and the fact that you have other kids to consider I would definitely not let your DS move back in without being clear about the answers to the above questions.
And please do not just throw money at him, like some posters have suggested. That's like paying him to keep away, which is just lazy and insulting.

ChaToilLeam · 11/06/2020 10:37

I would not let him back. Help him in other ways by all means but you cannot subject yourself or the other children to that kind of behaviour.

Serin · 11/06/2020 10:38

How did you address his problems when he was 3? Did you seek medical/educational/social support for him?

Honeyroar · 11/06/2020 10:41

I’d say ok for six to nine months while he saves up, but tell him he has to behave like an adult and stick to the rules of your household or else he will have to leave.

museumum · 11/06/2020 10:47

I would not bring a weed smoker into a house with a 13 and 15 year old.
Weed is proven to be very bad for adolescents and for me the risk would be too high.
I would find another way to support him with saving up for this move.

Megatron · 11/06/2020 10:52

Don’t feel remotely guilty, he doesn’t have the right to treat you as an emotional punchbag while he betters his financial situation.

I've just very quickly skimmed the thread so apologies if I've missed it, but in what way does he treat the OP as an emotional punchbag?

mumwon · 11/06/2020 11:01

www.webmd.com/mental-health/oppositional-defiant-disorder#1
it mentions adhd as being comorbid
I wouldn't allow him home unless he has radically changed

user32742534 · 11/06/2020 11:02

I'd let him but under these conditions:

-He stops smoking, it's a huge waste of money when he is supposed to he saving and will affect his behaviour negatively.
-He pays you a set amount of money as rent that you will give back to him if he sticks to the rules and if nothing is stolen etc. If he fails to comply you keep the money to pay off the money he owes you from the loan he didn't pay back two years ago.

Also, have you considered PDA? Autism is genetic so would make sense that his father was similar. I also wouldn't rule out abandonment issues from not having his biological father in his life.

Andwoooshtheyweregone · 11/06/2020 11:04

I don’t bVe him back no way

Andwoooshtheyweregone · 11/06/2020 11:04

Have*

caringcarer · 11/06/2020 11:11

My home Will always be available for my children. Your children even adult ones need nurturing. You say a lot of his issue stem from controlling step father. Sounds like you basically threw him out at 16. Did someone else take him in? If your relationship is quite good he must have forgiven you on some level. Don't let him down now. Help him become the man he can become with support. A man you can be proud of.

HollowTalk · 11/06/2020 11:11

@user32742534

I'd let him but under these conditions:

-He stops smoking, it's a huge waste of money when he is supposed to he saving and will affect his behaviour negatively.
-He pays you a set amount of money as rent that you will give back to him if he sticks to the rules and if nothing is stolen etc. If he fails to comply you keep the money to pay off the money he owes you from the loan he didn't pay back two years ago.

Also, have you considered PDA? Autism is genetic so would make sense that his father was similar. I also wouldn't rule out abandonment issues from not having his biological father in his life.

He's very likely to agree to anything in order to move home. Do you really think he'll actually stop smoking?
HollowTalk · 11/06/2020 11:12

I'd sooner take out a loan to let him move away sooner.

Bartlet · 11/06/2020 11:14

God no. Listen to your 13yo dd. Why should she share her space with someone who sounds so vile? Her and your mental health is important and needs to be considered.

At some point people need to stop using their mothers as emotional punch bags. There are so many women on Mumsnet who seem to let grown children off the hook with truly awful behaviour out of a misguided “accept appalling treatment as it’s my child ” approach.

Blondebakingmumma · 11/06/2020 11:14

Don’t try to ‘make up for the past’ at the risk of your other children’s lives. If he is still committing criminal acts and using drugs he shouldn’t move in

Zzz1234 · 11/06/2020 11:44

Hi I think your son is my brother. Actually my brother is 36, he’s the only one of us who has grown up the same as your son. My parents bail him out time after time, paid ccj’s fines, lost deposits due him none payment of rent, even bought a house for him, so he had no rent to pay but he still couldn’t pay council tax, electric etc. He has jobs but always loses the, he’s a really good builder, but a pain in the arse for employers. Leave him to it or you’ll be bailing him out forever. My parents refuse to not bail him out/support him but it’s cost thousands at the detriment to relationships with other family. They supported (paid) for family court to get access to his kids, but then he messed it all up by fighting with latest girlfriend and leaving the country.

lemontreebird · 11/06/2020 11:47

I think there's no guarantee he'd move out again.

TitianaTitsling · 11/06/2020 11:53

he is one of 4 kids (2nd eldest)
The three other children who grew up in the same household, are 100% well balanced, normal children. The only difference between them is a different father. So the eldest has the same father as the 2 youngest? Was the 21DS made to feel this difference growing up?

CrazyDaysAndMondays10 · 11/06/2020 12:01

I think you need to give him a chance .

I think it's fair to say this boy has suffered due to his stepfather , and honestly anyone who gives up on their 16 year old son forever needs to take a good look at themselves . Bi hope that isn't you .

He was the child in most of the mess that happened . I don't really care if he stole your car when he was 12 , he's stopped criminal behaviour for 3 years now . Honestly .... I think you are looking for excuses to turn him down and you should be looking for reasons to support him .

I hope you do the right thing .

HollowTalk · 11/06/2020 12:06

I was in your daughter's position, with a volatile, aggressive and violent brother. If you want to lose your daughter, then invite your son back home. If you want her to hate you, to think you put her last, to give her endless worry and fear and for it to affect the partners she chooses in life, go ahead. It's utterly selfish to let him come home - he only wants to come home to save money, not because he wants to be with any of you. Don't be a martyr and - more importantly - don't let your younger son and daughter be martyrs, either. Their needs should be put first.

CrazyDaysAndMondays10 · 11/06/2020 12:10

And just sorry , I'm looking for clarification on something... You said your son said that your husband ( the narcissist who caused you to have PTSD) was the reason that he wasn't in jail ( as if he was some kind of positive influence).

Did you challenge him on this obviously confused assumption ? The narcissistic stepfather was not good for your son in any way , shape or form . Not even slightly .

( I'm not blaming you for ending up with a narcissist btw , these people are difficult to spot until it's too late and I'm sorry you went through that)

billy1966 · 11/06/2020 12:14

It would break my heart to be in your position OP, but I would not allow him back in.

You have an obligation to ALL of your children and to yourself to get well.
They NEED you well.

Drugs in the house is an absolute No No.

You cannot reason with someone who takes drugs.

You cannot trust the judgement of someone taking drugs.

It would be a No from me.

A family is more than one person.

If I could help get a room somewhere and pay some rent in advance, (I would not give him money directly) I would.

He is 21 and unfortunately for him needs to start taking responsibility for his choices.

If he doesn't his life will never improve.

I appreciate people feel mixed things about weed etc. but their is absolutely no way I would have it in my home or around 13 or 15.

You saying No and being clear why could be the push he needs to help himself and take responsibility for bis life.

You cannot force him to do this.

Wishing you well OPFlowers

CrazyDaysAndMondays10 · 11/06/2020 12:17

And just a final thought

There are different ways to support children, if he's looking for a way to save money to make a move into the city , could you help him find a second job or similar? Making/saving more money is his goal after all?

Could you help him find a cheaper place to stay ?

Help him budget better?

If you decide not to let him come back then you can offer these ways to support him . It sounds like you've had a tough time with it all.

didyoueverdancewiththedevil · 11/06/2020 12:26

My son was an absolute nightmare between the ages of 11-14. He was permanently excluded from school last year and ended up in alternative provision until the Covid19 lockdown put a stop to all of his support/education.

I had been fighting for years to get him help, from when he started at secondary school. I knew there was something that was being missed. He was cutting (self harming), threatening suicide, getting into fights, being combative at school, getting into trouble with the police, stealing, the list goes on. My DS could start an argument in an empty phone box, particularly if he thinks he is in the right. I was receiving phone calls from school almost every day about his behaviour.

But I knew my child and I also knew that he needed help. So after almost four years of stress and taking him to CAMHS and his GP and talking to the school and being on a waiting list for almost two years, I finally got him an appointment in December 2019 with two NHS clinical psychologists who diagnosed ASD (Aspergers).

They basically said he cannot cope with "normal life" in the same way as other people. Almost everything confuses him and stresses him out.

He moved in with his dad two years ago (he will be 16 next month) and whilst this broke my heart at the time, I knew that I could not emotionally cope with any further stress, as a result of his aggressive behaviour and him smoking weed and drinking at 11 and 12 years old.

The diagnosis seems to have flipped a switch in his head and all of the aggressive and anti social behaviour has stopped. He has stopped smoking weed as well, as he says he feels better without it.

He has told me that he always felt that something was "wrong" with him. He said that he knew he was different from his friends and at times he felt suicidal. The knowledge that there is a reason for him feeling different, an actual reason diagnosed by a doctor, makes him feel much better about himself and he has sorted his life out and is going to college in September (hopefully!).

What I am saying OP is that my DS's behaviour over that four year period nearly drove me to a breakdown. I was absolutely at the end of my tether. But if he wanted to come home then I need to judge him as he is now, not how he was when he was 14. Only you can decide whether he has changed enough to let him into your home again, but I would suggest that your relationship with him might be improved by giving him the opportunity to show you that he has grown up.

Bartlet · 11/06/2020 15:33

I agree with @HollowTalk. Why does a 21yo desire to save money trump a 13yo wish not to have him in the house. He has options and she doesn’t. If she has been badly impacted by his (and apparently a horrible stepfathers) previous poor behaviour and the resulting impact on you and your family dynamic then she needs to be prioritised.

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