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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Indifferent grandparents

22 replies

SherbertLemons · 17/08/2022 16:41

AIBU? Indifferent grandparents 

Background; I had my first long awaited child three months ago. A baby girl. She is my parents first grandchild. My parents are divorced, both remarried for a very long time.

My dad lives a very long way away (six plus hours travel time) and, therefore, has only even able to come and see my daughter twice so far, but is due to visit again next week and we talk/text every week and he is always asking how she is/how I am etc. All good.

My mother on the other hand lives under an hours drive away (or 1.5 hours by train which is also an option as mum doesn’t herself drive, my step dad does). Since my daughter’s birth she and my step dad have only visited her once. The one time they visited was also a full month after she was born.

What is particularly bothering me is when I spoke to my mother in late June (we speak every couple of weeks on the phone) she said she had two sets of annual leave coming up, in July and August. So, she said she and stepdad would come and see me and, more importantly, my daughter, during one of those times. As stepdad doesn’t like the drive to where I live they said they would take the train. Fair enough, it’s a relatively straightforward journey (one change) and they get free travel too due to their age (late 60s). July came and went, no visit. August is rapidly passing and there has been no phone call to arrange a visit either. Radio silence.

It’s hard to summarise a family dynamic/history in a single post but it’s probably worth mentioning that I left home (mum and stepdads) when I was 17 due to emotional abuse from step father. Both are, in my opinion functioning alcoholics, and I was very much emotionally neglected during my childhood. Over the years we have rebuilt our relationship to a point where we are civil. They think we are close but we really are not. My mum and step dad are not the most sophisticated of people and I don’t think they fully understand the damage they caused (stepdad due to the abuse and my mother for failing to protect me). Our relationship from my point of view is very strained. However, they both tell me they love me on the phone or when I see them my mother with say “I love you so much” but the reality is they have never actually done anything to back up those statements. I find it uncomfortable when they say things like that. My mother has let me down on numerous big life occasions over the years since I left home but, in an effort to stay civil I have made allowances for it and just tried to be happy in my own life, but the truth is it does really hurt.

This latest disappointment of them not coming to visit when they said they could/would, just says to me that they are indifferent towards my daughter. That hurts. I can’t imagine not being anything but overjoyed to be a grandparent. I know when I am one day I would love to be really involved. I’d consider it a blessing and a privilege.

I guess I’m just looking for some advice on what to do going forward with my mother and stepfather. I know it’s ultimately their loss if they can’t be bothered (which is ultimately what it boils down to). I guess I just don’t want to act like their ambivalence is acceptable to me. Then again I don’t want an argument and I don’t want to pass on my complex feelings towards my mother/step father to my daughter. She can make her own mind up about them in due course. Then again I think it’s unfair on her for them to be fair weather occasional “grandparents”.

Any advice welcome.

Xx

OP posts:
MichelleScarn · 17/08/2022 16:44

I feel very harsh saying this, but do you want your daughter to be treated as badly as you have by them? What positivity do you think they would bring to the relationship?

dampgreg · 17/08/2022 16:48

Similar here. My dad lives about half an hour away. Has seen DD once (she's 8) and hasn't seen any of my DCs in the last four years. I was upset by it at first but as a PP said, why would you want to expose your DC to indifferent people.

Creepymanonagoatfarm · 17/08/2022 16:50

Gently saying op but yabu to have had expectations of her being a better dgm than she was a dm...
My mil snubbed ds when he was born. And us.

Been over 7 years since we have been in any sort of contact.
Back away and enjoy your dc....
You really are wasting time better spent with your baby.

Hopeandlove · 17/08/2022 16:51

My parents didn’t visit me in intensive care as it was ‘too distressing’ I was there with my baby for 2 weeks as a single parent they didn’t visit once. So they are alcoholics, self absorbed - why do you want them involved.

show your daughter how a parents love should be

Riverlee · 17/08/2022 16:54

Maybe, instead of waiting them to turn up randomly, actually invite them for a meal. Be proactive in organising the visit, rather than letting them dictate when to visit.

Also, if it’s an hours drive, could you visit them instead of them visiting you?

Bettyboop3 · 17/08/2022 16:57

I think, from experience, you will find it easier to stop wishing they would be different, accept they're a letdown & get on with being a better mother yourself x

IggyAce · 17/08/2022 17:05

Honestly I’d be glad, do you really want to expose your daughter to emotionally neglectful alcoholics?
At the end of the day your dd won’t miss what she’s never known.
My dcs don’t even know my dh mother exists, we’ve had no contact for around 18years.

MintJulia · 17/08/2022 17:11

You can't make people like babies. My mother was content with pictures of her grandchildren on her mantlepiece. She never wanted to spend any time with them.

She tolerated them in very small doses during the toddler years and then avoided them from 4-18.

You just have to accept that your mother is not interested in other people's children

Batshittery · 17/08/2022 17:16

I am very involved with my DGC and love them to bits. I wouldn't want to change the fact that I am a grandma, but before DGC arrived, I didn't have any desire to be a grand parent. I obviously wasn't asked if I wanted to be a grand parent, it was something I had no choice in.
If your parents were not very loving towards you, why would you expect them to be any different with your DC? It sounds like you're better off without them.

YippeeKiYay155 · 17/08/2022 17:19

My kids have two sets of grandparents still alive. One set moved to another country and are now too elderly to travel. They have seen my child three times in fifteen years. The other set live half an hour away, but have no interest in visiting my children. It used to hurt me, but as my kids have got older I have made peace with it and just think 'well it's their loss'. I know it hurts, but stop hoping they will change. They won't be able to give you what you need so you need to come to terms with it and build that strong family bond with your own children.

mondaytosunday · 17/08/2022 17:23

My parents were great with my kids but were lates 70s by the time I had them. Still when they were in the country they saw them at least once a week.
My parents in law not so much. Happy to see them if we took the kids to them and were always nice to them (and better once slightly older), but would never suggest coming by (at one point they lived less that 40 minutes away). Not their first grandkids, and I knew from my husband (who was the eldest and did give them their first two grand children as previously married) that they were not that invested. No animosity, no history of anything, that's just they way they are.
You just have to accept it. Enjoy and encourage your father's involvement.

GrannyGoggles · 17/08/2022 17:34

As a child I had one set of grandparents who were too old and infirm to do a lot with us, but I have fond memories of time spent with them. The other set consisted of a v mentally unwell and unstable grandmother and an alcoholic grandfather. I was left in their care frequently. This caused lasting damage, including causing v unwelcome intrusive thoughts and ambivalence about becoming a grandmother myself. (I’m now a doting granny.) I find it unforgivable of my mother. As others have asked, do you want to expose your baby to your mother and stepfather’s alcoholism?

Make the most of what you have, and don’t fret about your mother’s absence from your child’s life.

Jmaho · 17/08/2022 17:40

I think the fact that they are functioning alcoholics is the main issue here. I can completely resonate with everything you have said.
I think it just gets to the point where alcohol takes over and its just the absolute most important thing in their lives
They don't realise how much it has changed them or how selfish it has made them
I agree that they wouldn't even understand what the problem is
I think you just get to the point where you accept it. This point for me came a few years ago and I've made my peace with it
Visits are very few and far between and that's just the way it is
Just try if you can to focus on your daughter and give her the best childhood you can

OnaBegonia · 17/08/2022 17:41

I would i just leave it, they're not the type of ppl you want in your DDs life , they sound unpleasant and there's little they could bring to your life.

blockpavingismynightmare · 17/08/2022 17:41

Can you tell me how they qualify for free rail travel please? I would love this and as someone in my late sixties cannot seem to get free travel ?

TwinMama88 · 17/08/2022 17:47

I have a similar situation.

I have 2 year old twins.
My mother drives. My dad does not. (They're not together).
Mother loves to gloat that she has twin grandchildren, however they don't even know who she is, she's seen them a handful of times, and those times were when I made the effort to travel to her.
My dad has to get 3 buses and its a 2.5 hour trip one way, but he visits us every few weeks.
They both live the same distance away.

I have up making any effort with my mother. She rarely contacts me asking how the children are.
I decided my kids deserve people around them who actually care for them and want to be a part of their life.

Sapphirensteel · 17/08/2022 17:51

In my opinion, don’t go there.
I had toxic parents but still thought they’d make some sort of grandparents. They didn’t. Birthdays were ignored, no phone call, a card and age inappropriate gift would arrive up to two weeks later.
Then when I attempted family gatherings ( held by more distant family members) they’d made horrendous ( false) comments about me, embarrassing and upsetting some lovely people. To protect my DDs and myself I went NC.

concentrate on the people who love you unconditionally.
And congratulations on your DD.

mrsmoppp · 18/08/2022 10:41

Unfortunately it's more common than you think. I have 3 beautiful girls that none of their grandparents make an effort with. 1 set live 15 mins away and haven't seen them since June and the other 2hrs and it's been 5 yrs since they visited here. They don't phone just send a card through the post for birthdays or Christmas. Its upsetting but it's their loss. To be honest I forgot they exist most days - out of sight out of mind situation.
I wouldn't wast anymore of your time trying to force a relationship that isn't there it will only upset you in the long run.

EL8888 · 18/08/2022 13:09

@SherbertLemons l personally would do nothing and try to have no expectations but l know that is easier said than done…. It’s their loss after all. I wouldn’t chase around after her, from my experience that just makes them more entitled and more entrenched in not making any effort. Good luck with it all and congratulations on your daughter

Your post is especially thought provoking to me, as l recently found out l am pregnant after over 4 years of fertility issues. I was already thinking about how to handle my mothers lack of engagement and interest -she’s not that interested in being a grandparent even on a good day. She barely seemed interested in what l was doing or our fertility treatment but of course wants a world of interest in what she is doing! We have lived in our house for the best part of a year but she hadn’t bothered to visit -like your mum then she is retired, heavily discounted rail travel, no commitments etc. My dad is dead, he was an alcoholic and not the most engaged of people either… My partners parents in contrast most likely are going to be super excited and involved

USaYwHatNow · 18/08/2022 16:47

Some people,including parents as strange as that sounds, would rather wait for an invite than invite themselves.

girlfriend44 · 18/08/2022 17:02

Yep agree some ppl will say but you didn't invite me?

Tryingtokeepgoing · 18/08/2022 17:08

USaYwHatNow · 18/08/2022 16:47

Some people,including parents as strange as that sounds, would rather wait for an invite than invite themselves.

While we didn’t have children, my brothers do and I know my parents wouldn’t dream of inviting themselves despite living a hour or so from them. They’d see that as an imposition…and pretty rude. I have to say I agree with that…but when invited they are very happy to visit and love spending time with the grandchildren. Likewise they would never invite themselves to see me, but would invite me over to theirs, or to lunch somewhere in the middle. So I think you actually have to ask them, if you want them to come that is, rather than just expect them to come or invite themselves.

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