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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

18 year old and I at loggerheads ..

36 replies

cozynightsin · 04/02/2022 13:49

are at loggerheads.
Sue is refusing to go to school
As she doesn't like it and finds it hard but won't drop out as she wants to go the third level.
We have tried everything to support her, get her to school , even just one class.
Her school has been incredible. They've offered her lots of incentives to stay at school or even come in. She isn't accepting help, she just won't go in and stays in bed watching tv all day . She is still socialising and meeting friends and is in great form outside of school.
I've brought her to Dr. Who feels that she isn't depressed but needs to want to sort this out for herself , with support. She just will not listen to reason or alternatives . She simply does not want to go to school but doesn't wasn't to leave either . The reason the Dr said this is because' everybody is wrong and useless', in her eyes .
So hime has been stressful today the least. Her siblings are now trying to copy her and are very stressed with her rudeness and outbursts.
I am Also a single parent.Dad isn't very involved.
While it is t about me, I think I sort out f melted down a couple of weeks ago.
I cancelled all plans with friends for the foreseeable future and broke up my joyful loving relationship with my partner as I just couldn't see a way through the fog.
I feel I need to be at home for her 24/7 even though she is not at home much at weekends and even when she is, she's with friends or on calls or in bed lounging. She refuses to go to her dads.
I think that just being in the background might make her feel supported or prioritised?
I amso sad about my relationship finishing but he said he will wait for me. I'm
Also sad to be missing out on friends birthdays, walks, coffees and nights away.
I feel that the joy I had with my partner and my friends, Which was genuinely the only enjoyment I have had in the last few months, is gone and I feel so deflated and hopeless for the future.
Can I have your opinion son this please.
Am I being a good mother or a walkover here?

OP posts:
BringBackCoffeeCreams · 04/02/2022 14:24

Have you ever given her a proper telling off because it sounds like she needs it. She's behaving like this because she thinks she can and she's right. My DD has autism and ADHD and would have done the same at the age apart from the fact she knew I'd bollock her. There's no way I would have tolerated this and she knew it.

Blossom64265 · 04/02/2022 14:28

How does she still have a social life? If she isn’t attending school she should be grounded. If she doesn’t attend school you need to take her phone, turn off the wi-fi, turn off the tv, etc and make it clear she has lost socializing privileges. The fact that she is 18 is irrelevant. She is living in your home and not supporting herself. She is still functionally a child. If she doesn’t like being punished like a child, she can go to school or she can get a job and find herself a place to live like an adult.

Ragruggers · 04/02/2022 14:28

You say she is not unwell.Just ignore the behaviour get on with your own life,you are making it worse by always being around,she will soon get fed up being in bed when the weather improves.So she will fail her exams so either sits them later or finds a job any job if she wants money to go out.Stop giving her money and making her life easy.She can always study in years to come if she wishes.When her friends are going to University she wonders why but it her choice.She is 18 she needs to grow up.

Darbs76 · 04/02/2022 14:34

Don’t make excuses for her. School or a job, that’s what choices I’ve give

jacks11 · 04/02/2022 14:47

Your daughter has been assessed by professionals- both her Dr and by her teachers- as not suffering from anxiety or depression. You have involved the school who have tried various strategies to support her. You have done everything reasonable and within your power to support her to continue in education. Despite this, she chooses not to attend school, but will not consider alternatives such as finding a job or an apprenticeship. Instead she lounges around in bed and hanging out with her friends. It also sounds like she is rude to you, disrupts the household and is not pleasant to be around. I doubt she does much to help with household chores, cooking etc- I bet you cook, clean, do her laundry for her? And bankroll her living expenses, phone and socialising etc?

Exactly what incentive do you think your daughter has to either go to school or get a job? I know you think this is a reaction to the breakdown of your marriage and covid- and perhaps in some part it is- but you can’t let her hold you to ransom in this way. None of those things are your fault, so don’t feel guilty about them. And definitely don’t let her (intentionally or not) use it as a stick to beat you with. It’s doing you no good, nor your other children- but actually by giving in and letting her away with murder, you aren’t doing her any favours either.

I am afraid I would be very blunt with her- she is 18 years old now and needs to start taking some responsibility for herself. If she’s old enough to make these sorts of decisions (which she is), then she’s old enough to bear the consequences in their entirety. It’s not as though you haven’t sought help and support for her, you’ve tried hard and it sounds like the school has tried hard to support her too. I’m not quite sure what you mean by “3rd level”- is that university? I don’t think she has thought that through- her school won’t be able to give her a good reference if she wants to go to university- and will she even get the grades if she is not attending? I think you need to tell her that she is going to have to take responsibility for herself- she either gets herself back to school with the support they have offered, or leaves school and goes to college, starts an apprenticeship or gets a job. She can always go back to education in a few years if she wants to. Her choice, but a she has to do something.

If she won’t, then I would stop paying for anything but essentials- she gets a roof over her head, food on the table, essential toiletries (no luxury brands- basic toothbrush/toothpaste, soap, shampoo and conditioner, deodorant) and that’s it. No TV, no Wi-Fi password, no paying for phones and clothes (other than bear minimum when something needs replacing), no bankrolling the costs of socialising etc. If she wants those things she earns and contributes to the household. In addition, she starts taking on some of the household chores. If she doesn’t like these rules, then she is free to leave and go to her father’s or to a place of her own. You aren’t throwing her out, just stating the rules of living in your house and being fully financially supported in doing so.

I have no doubt she will be angry, possibly tantrum and try to guilt trip you into backing down- don’t. You are actually helping her by making her be a responsible young person, not a lazy layabout. She won’t thank you now, but she will in the future if you can help her turn things around.

As for yourself- I think you need some support in all this. It sounds like your mood isn’t great and you might be a bit depressed. You shouldn’t have to be at home 24/7 or end a relationship that made you happy, or stop seeing your friends. That is not healthy.

TheApexOfMyLife · 04/02/2022 14:47

If you want to be able to support her, you need to look after yourself.
And that starts with bringing back some joy in your life.

I also think she is 18yo. She doesn’t ant to go to school, she doesn’t want to leave. I’d leave her to it.
Have discussion about the future and what next September will look like. Remove the pressure of ‘having to be at school’ but make it clear she needs a plan for the rest of the year.
If she fails her A levels o doesn’t get the grades she needs, what will she do? Be clear it’s either a job or further education/apprenticeship. What does she have planned etc….

One thing I have learnt with my own dc is that you can strongly guide but you can’t force them to do X or Y at that age. They have to want to do it, they have to decide for themselves, even if it also means they are more likely to fail.
The most we can do as parent is to be there to support them. We can’t make them do things anymore iyswim

skodadoda · 04/02/2022 15:10

@cozynightsin

It has been so so stressful. I couldn't see a way forward. I thought she had anxiety and depression but anyone involved with her feels she needs to cop on and adult up a bit.
They’re right
RincewindsHat · 04/02/2022 15:14

You're enabling her poor behaviour because there are no consequences for her. You're not doing her any favours either; she likely knows you feel guilty and is milking it for all it's worth. How is sh e ever going to become a functioning adult if that's not what you encourage?

In the nicest possible way, you need to assert some boundaries and support her in confronting whatever she's hiding from. It is not your fault her dad left, and covid restrictions were tough on a lot of people. That's just life. Step back, and as PP have said, stop giving her money, paying for her phone, doing her laundry etc. Change the wifi password daily and refuse to give it to her. She won't be able to stay in bed watching stuff all day with no wifi. Put your foot down and support her in becoming a functioning adult.

2bazookas · 04/02/2022 15:39

Time for tough love.

I would remove/sell her bedroom TV, cancel pocketmoney, stop funding her phone.

If she 's done with school she needs to get out of bed , help round the house, get a job., start contributing work and money to the household.

YouokHun · 04/02/2022 15:54

Has she always been stubborn or done her own thing to varying degrees @cozynightsin? What was her concentration and focus like? Her tidiness and ability to stay on task, has she struggled with sleep? Does she have an impulsive streak? I agree with @INeedNewShoes it’s worth examining why she doesn’t want to go to school and whether there is a pattern or history to her behaviour which now becomes more of a problem as the world expects her to be adult in her approach and the pressures increase at school to work autonomously.

Your daughter sounds very like mine. My DD had always been somewhat pig headed and had trouble with focus and following instructions/toeing the line; not such an issue when they’re little. As her teenage years passed she got harder to handle. To cut a long story short she was diagnosed with Inattentive ADHD (previously known as ADD), and then so was I (another story!). ADHD is to many people an image of a badly behaved 8 year old boy being endlessly disruptive, so as a consequence it is often missed in girls who tend to have Inattentive type or Impulsive type or a combination. This manifests in a quieter way and is often missed and put down to stupidity and laziness (as I know to my own cost). It has little to do with academic ability but often quite a lot to do with low attainment. As the requirements of school become about autonomous learning and the next steps it can get too overwhelming. My DD was a contradiction too, ambitious about university and the future yet behaved in the moment as if she wanted the opposite. My daughter shut down and wouldn’t come out of her room and it’s all very well other people saying “just tell her” that is clearly not working well. I had to adjust my approach to avoid an almost continuous battleground. The impulsive element often appears as defiance and emotional dis-regulation and an inability to plan ahead and accept cause and effect. I know all of this sounds like familiar teenage traits but most teens are coming out of the other side at 18. Girls with ADHD are often behind the crowd with their emotional maturity. I remember feeling ashamed of the way she seemed to be wasting her chances and I thought I’d done such a terrible job and I felt like everyone was thinking “just sling her out”. Now she is 21, she started medication and had some counselling and coaching. The medication helped her focus and stopped the overwhelm which was what sent her under the duvet. She dropped down year and restarted her A Levels. It was a rocky road but now she is at university and managing what she now knows are her personal trip hazards. I’m still lying down in a dark room trying to recover my equilibrium.

It’s not that I’m saying your daughter is neuro-diverse or that I think we should label every bit of bad behaviour, but most children (and 18 is just a number after all) don’t set out to be badly behaved so I am in favour of looking to see if there is an underlying cause so that you can adjust your approach accordingly.

Talking of depression @cozynightsin, don’t pack away the positive bits of your life; keep seeing friends, because isolating yourself is one of the markers and perpetuators of depression. Please keep a foot in the world outside.

I’ve taken so long to type this that I’m sure someone else has come along and mentioned other possible reasons for her behaviour in a much more articulate way.

Hankunamatata · 04/02/2022 15:57

There is no need for you to cancel your life. If she is still going out with friends then you can have a boyfriend and socialise with your friends

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