Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Is it my fault dd is like she is?

63 replies

Shitemum79 · 27/03/2022 11:45

Dd is just turned 18. She's always been hard work for want of a better term. I've always tried to be a friend as well as a mum and we are very close. But she is going through a tough time. Recently on anti depressants, struggling at work due to making silly mistakes and not been enthusiastic enough. Life is pretty tough at the moment. She's moody, has meltdowns and I bear the brunt of most of it. It's put immense pressure on mine and her dad's relationship and we walk on eggshells waiting for the next outburst
What upsets me most is how my family are reacting to it. My parents and siblings. They are pretty hard and ignorant to anything mental health related. Probably thinks she needs to get a grip, sort herself out and get on with work and stop causing trouble and upset. I'm far more liberal with my parenting over my sibling and my dd is much more open as a result.
But my mistake is I do everything for her. Always have. She never puts clothes in wash basket or brings dirty plates down. Over the years I've tried several tactics from punishment which makes life harder to begging.
Have found the easiest thing is to just keep on top of it and do it.
She's on the verge of been sacked from work.
I'm questioning her upbringing and wondering if I've caused this by been too lenient or whether it's all mental health related. Or if this is an excuse.
Would appreciate honesty however brutal. No idea how to change things cos it's never worked in the past.
I

OP posts:
EssexLioness · 27/03/2022 12:05

Is she possibly autistic? A lot of what you said rings true to me and I was diagnosed and 40. You mention meltdowns - I wonder what you mean exactly. Look up autism in women as it presents differently to men and women tend to mask more effectively than men so often diagnosis is missed.

Shitemum79 · 27/03/2022 12:11

I'm wondering this myself. She is on a waiting list for therapy privately and this particular therapist has alot of asd knowledge so her opinion will be valuable.
By meltdowns I mean either ranting, swearing, shouting, crying, banging. Can either build up or come out of nowhere. Often over unreasonable things. She is excellent at masking and school never ever picked up on anything.

OP posts:
babytum · 27/03/2022 12:13

It’s very hard to say based on one snippet from your life but being too lenient can be quite negative for certain individuals. I believe that by taking over all basic responsibilities for kids like room tidying, laundry, behaviour etc you take away their sense of accomplishment and achievement when they succeed at doing their chores or giving an apology etc . Even at 21 my eldest will say come look at my room when she’s had a big clear out.
By being overly lenient the natural consequences for poor behaviour and taking responsibility for their own poor actions are missed and so external relationships in work or school etc are impacted. Mental health in the young is a huge issue and I thing a problem is their lack of coping skills. I sometimes wonder is our parenting to try to give them everything and make everything easy for them a reason why they find life so difficult. So then the disappointment ofife not going to plan is all consuming and over whelming. I’m as guilty as the next for wanting my kids to be happy all the time but that’s unrealistic and I make a huge effort to hold my tongue and say Wow how are you going to handle that or what do you think about this, rather than jumping in to fix the situation myself. Sometimes I just say that’s really shit and I’m sorry that happened, when in reality I want to ring the school or whatever Smile

Sorry for the ramble, you’ve done what you felt was best for her at the time, maybe now is the time to hand the reins over to her to take charge of herself with your support. Good luck

lljkk · 27/03/2022 12:16

Do your family think she is just attention seeking?

Is she failing to master basic life skills because she struggles to organise anything ever, because she's having a tantrum about not wanting to grow up, or because her emotions (maybe only sometimes) overwhelm her & prevent her from being able to organise herself?

Unless you taught/told her she never needed to master life skills, then I don't see how it could be your fault.

SpinningTheSeedsOfLove · 27/03/2022 12:16

Can you describe what the issues are at work? That might give a better clue as to what's going on with her. For example, are there issues at work with how she speaks to people?

Sympathies btw Flowers

Movingonup22 · 27/03/2022 12:17

Taking your approach can be very problematic- how did you expect her to learn life skills when you never gave her the opportunity or taught her to do things?

So I imagine it could play some part in having problems in starting her life as an adult…

bellylaughs · 27/03/2022 12:18

I was also thinking autism. It would explain a lot of what you describe. It’s very underdiagnosed in girls as they can hide it to a certain extent. Especially if she’s always struggled with friendships? I would broach it with her and let seek an assessment via your GP. A lot of undiagnosed autism manifests in depression due to not feeling accepted/“normal”/understanding the world in the same way as other neurotypical people.

EssexLioness · 27/03/2022 12:23

I hope the private therapy helps and you get answers. If indeed it is autism then of course it is not your fault. It is a disability. However, spoiling her won’t have helped, especially if she is autistic. She needed/ needs clear kind guidance and instruction and by you not providing that then you have robbed her of the ability to learn these things herself. I don’t think your relatives approach is helpful either but I do think it is very important to be shown life skills from a young age eg chores. I also think this is even more important with things like autism because it is more of a challenge for us so we need that help and support from an early age to prepare us for adulthood.

TheYearOfSmallThings · 27/03/2022 12:28

It is certainly part of a good parents' role to ease their DC towards independence, and it sounds like you could have focused more on this.

But I suspect there has always been some underlying issue which has made your DD difficult to deal with. Often these things come out when a child can't make the transition to adulthood and shortfalls which have previously been masked by parental support show up clearly. Hopefully her counselling will help clarify what is going on.

What I would say is that people are who they are, and unless your parenting has been grossly negligent (which I am certain is not the case) then you have not made her the way she is.

Bananabutter · 27/03/2022 12:32

I don’t understand how you possibly expect your DD to go out into the world and succeed having not been taught any life skills?

She’s now going to have to spend her entire adult life learning the skills you should have taught her and yes, it is going to set her back and probably is the cause of a lot of what she’s going through.

Unfortunately she’s an adult now, it’s too late for you to fix it.

cornflakedreams · 27/03/2022 12:32

Beating yourself up won't help the situation. So put down that stick please.

Over the years I've tried several tactics from punishment which makes life harder to begging.

Neither of those are likely to succeed, they're not healthy approaches. Ultimately you've settled on a path where she hasn't been taught skills and therefore has no confidence to try. That won't help depression.

Instead of viewing her behaviour as "bad" or "a problem" , how about viewing it as a reflection of skills and motivations? Your behaviour has inadvertently driven hers, and hers is inadvertently driving you - but you can slowly start to change that pattern.

She doesn't do laundry because she doesn't know how, doesn't have the confidence, and because she lives in an environment where she receives a desirable outcome if she doesn't do it (because you will then do it).

Think about how you can address that together - involving her in the decisions not imposing them.

Start with a conversation: that it's an important skill for her to have, you want to support her, and you see this as one change she can make that will make her feel better because it gives her control /something to achieve, and you will be there to support with questions and advice but will not be doing it for her.

That kind of thing - not blaming, not criticising, not dictating, but where you want to reach, positive ways you'll get there, and so on. It's a small thing but it will give her a sense of achievement which is very important in rebuilding confidence/self-esteem and recovering from depression.

Pick one goal at a time. This is about changing both of your behaviours not focusing on her as the "problem" or you as the "problem" - there is a dynamic between both of you (neither of you are "problems" you just have some challenging habits to break), but that can be changed.

It will be uncomfortable to start with because change always is, but with repetition and success it will feel comfortable.

Behavioural activation is also a useful strategy for managing depression - essentially that by starting very small and forcing yourself to do activities, your motivation and confidence returns and enables you to do more.

Step away from punishing, begging, blaming (yourself / her). All that will do is damage both of you. Maybe you could look at CBT resources on assertiveness and communication and maybe self-esteem for yourself? Could give you some useful ideas and tactics.

cornflakedreams · 27/03/2022 12:38

What I would say is that people are who they are, and unless your parenting has been grossly negligent (which I am certain is not the case) then you have not made her the way she is.

False.

Every single one of us is the product of our genes, our environment and our experiences. The body of scientific research shows that.

Suggesting the op's daughter would be in this circumstance regardless of anything the op has done is patent nonsense.

It is not helpful to tell the op she simply has a "bad" and "unhelpable" daughter, just like it is not helpful to tell the op she is solely responsible for this situation.

Unless the op wants advice on how to torpedo her relationship with her daughter forever that does not help (and is inaccurate anyway). Neither of those extreme positions is true.

Seek to understand how behaviour and relationship dynamics arise and continue - not as a way to pass blame and walk away, but as a way to identify what patterns can be changed to get to a healthier, happier place.

Hankunamatata · 27/03/2022 12:38

I have neurodiverse kids, mine are early teens . I still expect them to do chores, we have chore chart - put dirty clothes in basket, put clean clothes away, emptying bins, sweeping floors hovering. If they dont do it then they dont earn their pocket money. Has she ever had to take responsibility for her own stuff or behaviour?

Hankunamatata · 27/03/2022 12:41

Does she not like her job? Does she want to keep it? Is it lack of enthusiasm or bad attitude?

CrowUpNorth · 27/03/2022 12:42

The focus needs to be on what can help her function now. Understanding what has gone on previously might help understand what might help. Putting blame on yourself or someone else or finding fault doesn't. And find something for you and dh to do occasionally to look after yourselves! It must be hard.

Whatsmyname100 · 27/03/2022 12:44

@Bananabutter

I don’t understand how you possibly expect your DD to go out into the world and succeed having not been taught any life skills?

She’s now going to have to spend her entire adult life learning the skills you should have taught her and yes, it is going to set her back and probably is the cause of a lot of what she’s going through.

Unfortunately she’s an adult now, it’s too late for you to fix it.

I also think so. I know people who are exactly like this. Zero coping skills with anything, because they were never taught it.
BluebellsGreenbells · 27/03/2022 12:45

You have babies her.

The natural consequence of not putting washing in the basket is that it doesn’t get washed. No cups? She’ll have to wash one.

Not cleaning her room? Let her live in the chaos.

Autism could be at play but if you haven’t allowed her to fail, she’ll struggle when she does as she hasn’t built any resilience.

PurpleDrain · 27/03/2022 12:48

Sounds to me like it’s your fault yes. Not even bothering to put clothes in the washing basket, plates in bedrooms?
She sounds like a spoilt princess and is probably why she’s struggling at work as she is maybe expected to actually work. Must be bad if they’re getting rid of her.
Asd or not she should still have been helping out at home.

BoldMove · 27/03/2022 12:54

Hi OP. All sounds really hard at the moment. Its not your fault, at some point in our lives we have to accept responsibility for own behaviour though and you need to stop cleaning your dds room. I'd leave it and maybe offer to help her to do so you can show her how to do it unless she already knows how to. Tbh who wouldnt clean up if someone else did it for you? It'll help her to feel better about herself maybe.
If she has autism anyway well you know that's not your fault either.
Blaming yourself for her behaviour won't help the situation, I think most parents think their parenting hasn't been good enough at some point (been there and it doesn't helpSmile)but what's done is done so just be there for her now.
Hopefully things will improve for you all soon.

Chikapu · 27/03/2022 13:00

Unfortunately you've taught her that if she doesn't do something then someone else will, if she's carried that over into her working life then it's no wonder she's having problems. She's probably expecting others to pick up her slack.

ittakes2 · 27/03/2022 13:05

I would also google inattentive adhd and see if that sounds like her. Lack of motivation can be a dopamine imbalance

HMG107 · 27/03/2022 13:13

I know a lot of what you describe is currently believed to be autistic traits but I disagree. I was diagnosed a few years ago and have spend the last 5 years focusing on working with autistic individuals who work in professional roles. There's a clear divide between the autistic individuals who are simply a little bit different to the majority and those who struggle immensely aka those who are disabled - this is always due to their MH.

Most of the time their MH issues are caused by having ADHD, which means they suffer from emotional dysregulation, impulsivity and rejection sensitivity. Rejection sensitivity can create a fear of being perceived as doing something wrong and being rejected because of it, as well as a belief they they are regularly being rejected even though they try so hard. This can make the world of work, which is all about relationships, incredibly hard.

I have ADHD and started meds late last year, they have have transformed my life and ability to cope - including my ability to take part in cleaning related tasks, which I was hopeless at before. Your daughter might be autistic and have ADHD but I'd prioritising exploring ADHD first. If this is an issue many of the challenges your faces could be controlled by daily medication.

MojoMoon · 27/03/2022 13:21

Does she have a close group of friends? A boyfriend/girlfriend? Does she go out and socialize/do activities?

I wouldn't spend much time obsessing over what you have done - you'll never know for sure what the other outcomes could have been.
Focus on the present and future.
She needs to start being more independent at home.
You say you are close - can you sit down when she is calm and talk about how you want her to become an independent adult and that includes looking after her own basic needs like clean clothes, food etc and her taking into account the needs of the wiser household?

TheYearOfSmallThings · 27/03/2022 13:22

Suggesting the op's daughter would be in this circumstance regardless of anything the op has done is patent nonsense.

I just disagree. Outright neglect can have marked consequences, but if mildly ineffectual parenting was catastrophic humanity would have died out long ago. The truth is most children develop well if their basic needs are met by loving parents, which seems to be the case here.

Other children don't, even if their parents do everything right. In this case I suspect the parents have been walking on eggshells for years and yes, it wasn't the best way to manage their DD, but I think her underlying issues have shaped their parenting rather than the other way around.

DontLookBackInAnger1 · 27/03/2022 13:28

No idea as one post won't be enough to inform someone of the intricacies of 18 years of life. People are complex.

Is it possible that being lenient has contributed? Yes. Emotional resilience and a good work ethic often come from solid boundary setting and high expectations. You doing for her will mean when she enters the workplace and has to do for herself it comes as a shock. She isn't used to having criticism.

But, I doubt that's everything. She maybe also has low esteem and poor communication techniques.

It's not your fault, no parent is perfect and every child responds differently to it. I hope her therapy works.