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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Not to want to collect adult DS immediately

248 replies

44timesaround · 29/01/2022 12:54

DS 19 moved out over a year ago to live with his GF. They've had ups and downs as most young relationships have.
I'm just at the point of competition on a house for myself and 2 DD to a smaller house, 3 bedrooms based on him living with his GF.
He's fallen out with GF and now says he wants to come home and can I come get him immediately.
When DS has come home for visits before he has had out bursts of being aggressive to me, shouting and smashing stuff.
We've had a long talk and sorted stuff out and in a much better place. I've been in counselling to become more assertive due to over compensation after a bad previous relationship.
DD are upset that they may now have to share a room if he comes home. They are going through normal teenage issues and are looking forward to a new start in a new home.

As he and His GF argue then get back together in a day or two. AIBU to try to put it off for a few days to see if they make up?
He says it's definitely over.

OP posts:
LookItsMeAgain · 31/01/2022 09:20

Firstly he has an issue with drugs. It might be weed but the fact that 2 hrs after having a conversation with you about not being stoned in your home he comes back and is.
I'd drive him to a hospital and get him some medical help for that. He might not like it but it'll help him in the long run.
Then, unfortunately, I'd have to say "no, son, you're not allowed to come home. Your track record speaks for itself and you're not allowed to come home. You'll have to find somewhere else to life and support yourself".

LakieLady · 31/01/2022 09:26

@CanofCant

I think the people commenting in his favour to come home and those who are criticising you have absolutely no idea of what it is like to live this and I think it's quite irresponsible as they are at the risk of making you feel more guilty and torn between your children than you already are. Anyway I hope everything turns out well for you all OP.
I agree entirely with this.

I've worked with families where there is an adult child who is abusive and I've never known them change their ways until they've moved out and lived independently. Letting them stay in the family home just perpetuates the cycle and isn't fair on the younger children.

Crimeismymiddlename · 31/01/2022 09:30

The thing is if he was working/studying full time. Respected the home and did not take drugs you would be happy to take him in for a few weeks while he sorts out his living situation as you know if this was the case he would be gone again within the month. Sadly he has not done this, his girlfriend and parents obviously got fed up with the same behaviour and chucked him out. He is young, but you have an excellent get out clause-you move in three weeks, there is not a room for him and he will only be able to sleep on the sofa, and as the room is family room he will not be able to slob around it all day. He needs to start looking for a room to rent in a house share-the housing benefit will cover it. Being on his own, with peers who won’t put up with the nonsense you have will help him grow up.

ESGdance · 31/01/2022 09:35

Seems he has just ambushed your home without your permission?

Also this decision point has nothing to do with the size of the house.

His behaviour is a safeguarding issue to your younger DDs - if you lived in a ten bedroom mansion his physical violence, anger eruptions, drug taking, dodgy friends put your DDs at risk - it seems you have all endured enough of it and they will have been emotionally injured by it.

You have done enough running around for him and anything further is just another cycle of you inadvertently enabling his issues.

Get support for yourself from family addiction support groups so that you can learn to “detach with love” - you can be compassionate and signpost him to services that he needs to access himself - keep in regular contact and continue to be encouraging but emotionally distance and protect yourself so that you are not dragged into rescuing and inadvertently enabling.

You are dealing with an addict first and foremost - it requires a different mindset and approach.

Payitforward55 · 31/01/2022 09:43

@CanofCant

I think the people commenting in his favour to come home and those who are criticising you have absolutely no idea of what it is like to live this and I think it's quite irresponsible as they are at the risk of making you feel more guilty and torn between your children than you already are. Anyway I hope everything turns out well for you all OP.
This is really important! This is someone who has lived this experience. If you only had your son letting him back would be an option but you have to think of your other children and yourself. Hopefully you can get support to get him accommodation but it should not be with you until be can stay with in very reasonable boundaries.
Whammyyammy · 31/01/2022 09:47

Normally I'd sat kids always welcome back home, but the violence is the issue here. Want to behave like a thug and a bully? Then not under my roof

ESGdance · 31/01/2022 10:07

www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/advice-for-the-families-of-drug-users/

Get yourself informed, educated and supported about addiction. Pace yourself - you need to look to the medium term and not knee jerk reactions to his latest daily crisis.

Support groups will help you to feel confident in doing that. It’s a difficult road and requires you to see the addict first (rather than your DS) and allow them to feel the bumps / consequences of his actions - these are what will give him any chance of change. It is difficult to resist your maternal impulses to scoop him up but they are not appropriate here - you will need support with that and trying to compartmentalise his issues so that they don’t dominate your family life and damage your MH and your DDs any further. Your aim is to be emotionally fit to see him through this journey - you can only do that by strategically emotionally detaching, pacing yourself and taking the uncomfortable decisions where he is exposed to the consequences of his choices and has information and access to the services to support his recovery whenever he is ready.

Dubuem · 31/01/2022 10:18

You laid the ground rules and within hours they are broken (which wasn't surprising, I've been where you are).

He is obviously troubled but savvy enough to manipulate. Do not sacrifice your future. Give him the time until you move and if he comes home stoned don't let him in. I really do feel for you. Xxx

Dubuem · 31/01/2022 10:23

ESGdance is spot on. See the addict first. This will help give you more rational, guilt free (almost) strength. Tough love is true love.

lborgia · 31/01/2022 10:40

Hi OP, apart from the weed, does he has any dx of mental health problems, or neurodiversity?

I probably sound as if I'm fence sitting, I'm not, but I think you're in a very tricky situation because now he older you can make anything change.

I absolutely don't think he should come home, but I do think there may be an underlying issue.

I no longer think anyone just turns out bad. I think there is always a medical or neuro issue underlying, it just hasn't been identified or dealt with yet.

steppemum · 31/01/2022 11:08

Gosh OP, what a nightmare.

I do think that a 19 year old often still needs support and a safety net to return home when it all falls apart and I am eternally grateful to my parents for allowing that. My son is 19 and at uni and he definitely still needs that support.

BUT your ds is abusive, aggressive and refusing to listen to your house rules.

I think you were right to give him a chance when he turned up on Sunday, but he broke your rules straight away, so now he has to have the consequences.

Enforce the consequences. He can go to the council and say he is homeless, and get a hostel room.

Be clear to him, if he can obey the rules, then you will help.

myothercarisaskoda · 31/01/2022 13:23

Make him stand on his own two feet. Do you want him in your home forever? He needs to earn some money. Really tough but you've got to be cruel to be kind.

TracyMosby · 31/01/2022 19:48

He is an adult who doesnt give a shit about your rules. He literally does not care at all. There is no point at all making rules if there is no consequence to breaking them.

Whatinthelord · 31/01/2022 23:06

“Well he's here now. I need to make a plan. I put fair and reasonable rules in place, he agreed and then within 2 hours ignored them.”

This was inevitable, and it’s only going to get worse.
You need him out the house. You can support him, as much as possible, from afar. I feel for your daughters.

What happened when he broke the rules after only 2 hrs?

Tulips21 · 31/01/2022 23:58

I wouldnt have allowed him back...
But you did, again, knowing how he would behave and then he did it again.
I hope you've kicked him out now and put your other Dc and yourself first for once

WiddlinDiddlin · 01/02/2022 05:49

Bloody nora... 2 hours and he's broken the house rules.

DO NOT give him his own bedroom at the expense of your DD's having their own rooms. That will tell them that he can behave exactly as he pleases, be rude and abusive and ignore you, and still get preferential treatment over them.

Do not let him move with you at all if you possibly can - if you have to, air bed on the floor, ideally dining room if you have one NOT main family room.

PP are correct, he needs to hit rock bottom before he starts to help himself, until that point, help you give won't be appreciated and will be pissed all over the moment it suits him to do so.

He doesn't sound like he wants 'help to help himself' at this point. What he wants is to absolve himself of all responsibility for anything in his life, have someone wave a magic wand and fix everything so he can continue doing that. That is why when your help is anything less than the magic wand fix.. he gets nasty about it.

RantyAunty · 01/02/2022 09:47

You could suggest he join the military?

squashedalmondcroissant · 01/02/2022 11:32

Op your ds sounds scarily similar to my ex.

He had his good moments but the way he treated his mum and sister was absolutely disgusting. He had absolutely no respect for either of them, everything had to be his way all the time. If he demanded something everyone else would literally drop everything to help him out. As an example, we were eating dinner at his mums one night and he couldn't find his lighter. He started shouting and swearing and saying that everyone HAD to help him find it RIGHT NOW. So his mum and sister both stopped in the middle of eating dinner and starting pulling the sofa cushions off, looking around on the floor etc for the missing lighter. I was absolutely stunned watching it. It was eventually found and instead of thanking them and apologising for making them stop eating, he instead blamed them for the house being such a mess he couldn't find anything.

He never once lifted a finger in the house, never cleaned anything, made a meal, or tidied up after himself, his mum did absolutely everything for him. If he ran out of tobacco or weed, he would demand that his mum or sister drove him to get some more and give him the money for it (since he wasn't working and had no money of his own). She did it. When he stupidly lost his car because he was driving without insurance, he demanded that his mum pay for a now massively inflated price wise whole year of insurance payments upfront so he wouldn't miss another monthly payment. She did it. When he had to move back home to his mums house, he insisted that he take the largest room (her room) because the other rooms weren't big enough to store his mountain of useless junk. Did she make him get rid of stuff or give him a smaller room? No of course not. She gave in and ended up giving him her own bed and sleeping on the sofa because the single bed she bought for him was too small and he didn't like it. She got him on to a college course and paid upfront for the whole thing. He didn't bother going. He was an absolute pro at guilt tripping and manipulation, and would make his mum feel terrible if she dared to say no to anything he wanted so she always ended up giving in.

You might think that this person was in their late teens, maybe early 20's. Sadly not. He was 30. He has recently fathered a child and I'll bet you a million pounds that mummy ends up doing a lot of the child related stuff that he can't be arsed to do.

In both his and your cases Op it seems that the problem really is that there is no consequences for their behaviour. They can keep treating people like crap because they allow it. No one says no to them. Please, please do not let him live in your new house. He won't change unless he is forced to, he needs a heavy dose of tough love to sort himself out. It was absolutely heartbreaking watching my exMIL run herself absolutely ragged trying to please him, when despite all her efforts he was just as rude, aggressive and lazy as ever. She deserved so much better, but she also had the power to force him to grow up and change she just couldn't muster the strength to do it.

Good luck with everything, it's a really tough situation to be in and I really hope it works out for you x

NotNowAlan · 01/02/2022 13:06

Sorry you're going through this OP. Have you heard of the charity Change Grow Live? They may be able to help with accommodation, job training etc. They helped my brother.

Bunce1 · 01/02/2022 13:19

really complicated situation, with so many facets, and no simple solution.

I can understand your reluctance not to have him in your house, as he would be homeless?

Is he addicted to drugs?

I agree with a PP, he needs outside intervention as he doesn't have the skills to change his ways.

Dubuem · 01/02/2022 14:02

I had a similar situation and tried everything to help my son over the years. He is a lovely guy....without drink and drugs, then he is someone I don't recognise. Over the years I made him homeless, but that made him very vulnerable to dangers, which made things much worse.
Long story short, after yet another call to the police, I was asked if I wanted to press charges. This time I said yes. I can't say that was an easy decision; it was beyond awful doing it, but my son was slowly self destructing and destroying me along with him. The circle had to be broken.
I submitted a witness statement to be read in court and my son now has a probation officer and housing help. He attends regular AA meetings and his sobriety has been 18months to date. I have my son back.

Toanewstart23 · 09/02/2022 12:22

@squashedalmondcroissant

Op your ds sounds scarily similar to my ex.

He had his good moments but the way he treated his mum and sister was absolutely disgusting. He had absolutely no respect for either of them, everything had to be his way all the time. If he demanded something everyone else would literally drop everything to help him out. As an example, we were eating dinner at his mums one night and he couldn't find his lighter. He started shouting and swearing and saying that everyone HAD to help him find it RIGHT NOW. So his mum and sister both stopped in the middle of eating dinner and starting pulling the sofa cushions off, looking around on the floor etc for the missing lighter. I was absolutely stunned watching it. It was eventually found and instead of thanking them and apologising for making them stop eating, he instead blamed them for the house being such a mess he couldn't find anything.

He never once lifted a finger in the house, never cleaned anything, made a meal, or tidied up after himself, his mum did absolutely everything for him. If he ran out of tobacco or weed, he would demand that his mum or sister drove him to get some more and give him the money for it (since he wasn't working and had no money of his own). She did it. When he stupidly lost his car because he was driving without insurance, he demanded that his mum pay for a now massively inflated price wise whole year of insurance payments upfront so he wouldn't miss another monthly payment. She did it. When he had to move back home to his mums house, he insisted that he take the largest room (her room) because the other rooms weren't big enough to store his mountain of useless junk. Did she make him get rid of stuff or give him a smaller room? No of course not. She gave in and ended up giving him her own bed and sleeping on the sofa because the single bed she bought for him was too small and he didn't like it. She got him on to a college course and paid upfront for the whole thing. He didn't bother going. He was an absolute pro at guilt tripping and manipulation, and would make his mum feel terrible if she dared to say no to anything he wanted so she always ended up giving in.

You might think that this person was in their late teens, maybe early 20's. Sadly not. He was 30. He has recently fathered a child and I'll bet you a million pounds that mummy ends up doing a lot of the child related stuff that he can't be arsed to do.

In both his and your cases Op it seems that the problem really is that there is no consequences for their behaviour. They can keep treating people like crap because they allow it. No one says no to them. Please, please do not let him live in your new house. He won't change unless he is forced to, he needs a heavy dose of tough love to sort himself out. It was absolutely heartbreaking watching my exMIL run herself absolutely ragged trying to please him, when despite all her efforts he was just as rude, aggressive and lazy as ever. She deserved so much better, but she also had the power to force him to grow up and change she just couldn't muster the strength to do it.

Good luck with everything, it's a really tough situation to be in and I really hope it works out for you x

How? How the heck do you possibly stay with someone after witnessing this behaviour?
squashedalmondcroissant · 10/02/2022 00:18

@Toanewstart23

Clearly I didn't fortunately as he is an ex 😁

Sadly he was/is a textbook narcissist and has no soul morals to speak of, so he was skilled in manipulation and saying what he had to say to get what he wanted. I heard someone tell him 'it's scary how easily you lie' (very true). Thank God it only took months rather than years to suss him out!

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