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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Daughter rejection :(

203 replies

James365 · 17/10/2023 11:41

Hi, let me start by stating that I’m not looking for sympathy and understanding. I just want to get this off my chest and listen to any advice that may be on offer.

To cut a very long story short, my now 20 year old daughter wants nothing to do with me. This has gone on for ten years and has even gone through the courts when she was younger. I don’t feel like I’ve done anything wrong to cause this. In fact, quite the opposite.

At the end of the day, what point would there be in me writing an anonymous post on this forum if it was full of lies? So please, dear reader, bear with me...

I come from a very stable and healthy background with good morals, strong work ethics and I believe I brought my daughter up well. Her mother meanwhile has been in and out of mental institutions all her life and at one point even admitted to the police her intentions to take my daughter’s life. My belief is that since our divorce 12 years ago, my ex wife has manipulated my daughter through jealousy and her own mental condition to turn her against me. I’ve been reading about Children with Narcissistic Parental Alienation Syndrome along with Children with Personality Disorders and this pretty much sums this all up.

During the past ten years, I don’t feel like I’ve interfered or gone out of my way to cause any problems. But each time I’ve tried to rebuild relations with my daughter I’m eventually met with rejection. This has lasted for so long because I’ve been determined not to give up. However, my daughter has now expressly told me once and for all that she wants nothing more to do with me. Why? Who knows?! I honestly have absolutely no idea. I know for a fact I’m not a bad person. I don’t drink, smoke or take drugs. I have always had a very good and stable job and have never shunned my responsibilities.

I have another daughter with whom I have a perfectly normal relationship with which goes even further in trying to justify my other daughter’s decision. It’s all very frustrating.

So now here’s the crunch. This is the bit that’s made me want to write this post. Despite my daughter’s complete rejection, she is still expecting me to pay her mobile phone bill. It may not seem like much. And money-wise, it isn’t a lot. But in principal I’m struggling to get my head around the cheek of it. She doesn’t want anything to do with me but still expects me to put my hand in my pocket. This is coming from a 20 year old woman who is perfectly capable of getting a job on the side of her uni studies to pay for things like this. Not to mention my late father leaving her a five-figure sum in his will 2 years ago.

Do you see where I’m coming from? Am I being unreasonable to expect her to pay for her own phone use?

It’s pointless having a conversation with her mother and she just repeats how poor she is herself (despite taking regular overseas holidays) and can’t believe that I would even consider stopping paying for the phone bill.

I’m at the point now where I’m considering altering my will to write my daughter out and leave everything to my other daughter. When I eventually die, there will be a considerable sum left behind and I’m struggling to understand why my daughter that has rejected me for ten years should in any way benefit from it. Do you?

Thank you for reading.

OP posts:
Annoyingfly · 17/10/2023 13:04

youdontneedtopoo · 17/10/2023 12:24

Children don't cut their parents off for no reason. They just don't.

Not for no reason. But it's not always the same reason.

CliantheLang · 17/10/2023 13:04

Another man with a crazy ex. What are the odds?

AlexaCanYouHearMe · 17/10/2023 13:05

youdontneedtopoo · 17/10/2023 12:24

Children don't cut their parents off for no reason. They just don't.

Agree with this. ^

Also, why on earth is ANYbody paying another adult's mobile phone bill? Confused

whynotwhatknot · 17/10/2023 13:07

dont cut her off completely-shes likely been brainwashed or fear about losing her mother

not exactly the same but my nephew went to live with his father who manipulated him to thinking my dsis was a crap mother just because she couldnt afford to spend the same sort of money on him as he does-he uses his money as power same way as prob your ex does but with her mental health problems

my sister is very upset but wouldnt cut him off no matter what

Sconehenge · 17/10/2023 13:09

Even though on principle I get that you don’t want to keep paying the phone bill, if it’s not an issue for you financially I would keep paying it. You don’t explain why she doesn’t want you in her life but if her mum has mental health issues your daughter could either have inherited these or at least picked up some really unstable ways of dealing with conflict/relationships. She is clearly pushing you away and maybe this is for real, or maybe it’s to “prove” that you don’t really love her. Either way, £30 a month isn’t much to “prove” back to her that she can’t push you away no matter what she does, because you’re her dad and will always love her.

Maybe she won’t appreciate it right now but life is pretty long and one day she might have her own children and come around to you and be grateful that you supported her in this way through young adulthood.

So, I would pay it and I also wouldn’t cut her out of my will - perhaps 75% to daughter you’re in touch with and 25% to her is fair enough for now if you really want to take a step.

Maybe if you get to 75 and haven’t managed to heal the relationship then you can think about cutting her out completely but I wouldn’t see this as appropriate considering she’s only 20!

morechocolateneededtoday · 17/10/2023 13:10

I’m not going to comment on the aspect of who is telling the truth and who isn’t.

But as a psychiatrist, I am going to say that if your daughter has experienced what you claim she has in terms of her mother’s mental health, inpatient admissions, being detained under section etc then she is still extremely traumatised and will be unable to see things clearly. There is also a high chance she will go on to experience difficulties herself as she tries to come to terms with things. Hopefully, she will be able to see other perspectives as she gets older and for that reason, I would make it clear the door is always open for her even if she isn’t ready right now.

Caipirovska · 17/10/2023 13:10

If you want to keep the door open for future improvements - I'd say and tell her now - and don't get drawn into discussion - that you'll pay the phone bill till she finishes university so another year then you see her as an adult.

If you think there's no chance of improvement in future as she becomes independent adult then by all means stop and have her be angry about this as well.

Wills and inheritance I'd leave for the moment unless there is some urgent need to get sorted - and see how things develop in next few years.

bingobanjo · 17/10/2023 13:12

So she wants no contact for absolutely no reason at all, and the courts also mind bogglingly decided for no reason at all that she was better off with her mother? 🤔

I don’t really understand the relevance of you having a stable job in regards to your relationship with your daughter. So what? Were you kind to her, supportive, understanding, fun? I don’t think little girls care about their dad’s careers, so it doesn’t count as plus in this situation.

Pay the phone bill. University is an expensive and stressful time, it presumably makes a lot more difference to her that it’s paid than it does to you to be paying it.

You wanting to stop paying it, seemingly on principle/to make a point, may have some relation to your overall relationship problems… I’d think about that. A parents love is supposed to be unconditional.

Ginflinger · 17/10/2023 13:12

Just pay the bill. If she's "rejected you for 10 years" and she's 20 now, that means she was just 10 years old when this all started. She's only 20 now - there is so much time left for you both. Don't give up now.

Caipirovska · 17/10/2023 13:14

Also, why on earth is ANYbody paying another adult's mobile phone bill?

We've agreed to keep paying while they are doing undergraduate degree - if they want a better plan they can pay but if they are happy with current one we'll pay as a way of supporting them financially and emotionally - though our kids haven't inherited a 5 figure sum.

Whatthefuck3456 · 17/10/2023 13:15

If her mother wants to create such toxicity she can deal with it. I would stop paying the phone bill and I would also cut her out the will; unless she did start to be apart of your family again then change it back.

SurprisedWithAHorse · 17/10/2023 13:17

She may well be using the phone bill as the gauge of whether or not you care about her, and given you would disinherit her for not giving you enough of her time, she might not be wrong to do so. You say neither she nor you has to worry about the money, so clearly it's about something else for both of you.

Parenting isn't a quid pro quo. You will always have to give more for your kids than you get in return. There's something very wrong if you don't realise this after 20 years.

There remains a chance of a relationship with your daughter. Is a phone bill worth losing that?

laveritable · 17/10/2023 13:19

She is only 20?
Do not pay her phone bill!
Do you bit: Birthdays and Christmas cards and gifts (No matter how small)
Phone call and message once a month.
Stay calm, she might still come around!

Nosleepforthismum · 17/10/2023 13:20

I mean, you sound bloody immature from your posts. Of course you don’t disinherit your daughter when she’s throwing a wobbly over her relationship with you. You acknowledge she has had a difficult upbringing with her mum and there may have been some parental alienation there. None of which is her fault by the way.

I have no idea why cancelling her phone contract and cutting her out your will is your immediate thought when she says she doesn’t want to see you anymore. Surely any normal parent tells them they respect their wishes but obviously they love them and hope to have a relationship with them again in the future?

YANBU in cancelling her phone contract but you are deliberately doing it to punish her. If you had a good relationship with her I suspect you would carry on paying for the phone.

jlpth · 17/10/2023 13:20

The mobile phone bill is neither here nor there. It seems such a non issue to write about, when your dd doesn’t speak to you.

When you say you’ve brought your dd up well, I’m not sure what to make of that - if you’ve had almost no contact for 10 years, I don’t really see how you have brought her up at all.

there must be more to this

Yeahno · 17/10/2023 13:22

On this site children can do not wrong. As she is an adult now, treat her like adult. She can't say she want nothing to do with you but keep the financial benefits.

Coffeerum · 17/10/2023 13:22

A long update but still no clarity on what happened between age 8 and 15 when she decided she didn't want anything to do with you.

I find it hard to believe the court would have ordered you to have no contact at all so what was your relationship like prior to that? Where did you move to after the split? How regularly did she stay with you? What was your role in her life?

DeeKitch · 17/10/2023 13:25

I can't continue reading after this comment .. "Her mother meanwhile has been in and out of mental institutions all her life" 😤

muchalover · 17/10/2023 13:26

I had a challenging relationship with all my family and am no contact with all of them. I spent years tooing and froing out of guilt. On the surface they are nice people and have friends and relationships. The subtle and not so subtle exclusions, the language they used about me and comments made, the unfair way they treated my children made my continued attachment untenable.

Not one of them has any awareness and to this day would feel completely innocent and it was all my fault.

I dislike the way you talk about the mother of your children and if you think you earn brownie points for NOT being mentally ill and being lucky enough to reap the rewards of being stable then this may go a way to understanding why your DD is against you. She seems to have more empathy and kindness towards her mum and you seem judgey.

Goldfish41 · 17/10/2023 13:27

I know for a fact I’m not a bad person. I don’t drink, smoke or take drugs. I have always had a very good and stable job and have never shunned my responsibilities.

Your daughter should pay her own phone bill. But this above concerns me - that is not the definition of a good person, that is a tick box list of outward social acceptability. There are many people who tick those boxes and yet have very difficult personality traits or even be abusive (I’m not saying you are, I’m talking about the way you are defining yourself here). You don’t seem to be acknowledging even the slightest thing that you could have done to contribute to the situation, that is a bit of a red flag as it’s never that clear cut. Neither does her mother having mental health difficulties make her a “bad person”.

Parental alienation syndrome is extremely controversial and questionable, in fact it’s now considered by many experts to be a fabrication and utilised generally by abusers to deflect from accusations so you probably don’t want to bang that drum too hard even if in entirely good faith.

The inheritance question is difficult. Personally, if I loved my child and wanted the best for them I’d keep them in the will (unless they’d done something truly cruel and horrendous) as otherwise you are sort of suggesting your relationship is a transactional one (be how I want you to be to me or you won’t get the money). I’d also suggest unless you think you’re going to die very soon maybe you try to work on the relationship more first? She is only 20, there’s a long way to go and things change.

iwantavuvezela · 17/10/2023 13:28

Do not write her out of your will. I have seen what this has done to friends of mine whose parents have done his It is a painful blow. There is no need to pass that down to her

WinterDeWinter · 17/10/2023 13:29

As others have said - if you're right, then your daughter is the victim here. She's either been abused by her mother or has grown up in a very unstable situation which has led to a terror of being rejected by her or possibly of 'causing' her suicide.

Don't abandon her - she needs you as much now as she did then. For the price of the phone contract, you can keep a future relationship with her alive.

If you decide to continue, you could think about gently explaining why you have chosen to do so - ie that you want to continue to hope that you will be reconciled.

Mummyoflittledragon · 17/10/2023 13:29

morechocolateneededtoday · 17/10/2023 13:10

I’m not going to comment on the aspect of who is telling the truth and who isn’t.

But as a psychiatrist, I am going to say that if your daughter has experienced what you claim she has in terms of her mother’s mental health, inpatient admissions, being detained under section etc then she is still extremely traumatised and will be unable to see things clearly. There is also a high chance she will go on to experience difficulties herself as she tries to come to terms with things. Hopefully, she will be able to see other perspectives as she gets older and for that reason, I would make it clear the door is always open for her even if she isn’t ready right now.

This is very good advice. Your dd, despite all her adversities has managed to get herself through A levels and to university. This is no mean feat. Be proud of her, love her unconditionally even if she cannot connect with you right now.

WinterDeWinter · 17/10/2023 13:31

But - it's notable that, when you enumerate the ways in which you are 'a good person', there is nothing there about her, her feelings, your love and worry for her, etc etc. It's all very transactional/low-bar stuff.

Lavenderosa · 17/10/2023 13:31

"my daughter has now expressly told me once and for all that she wants nothing more to do with me. "

Honour her wishes then and stop paying her phone bill. She doesn't want you in her life so don't be in it. She can't just use you for financial support while telling you she wants nothing more to do with you. Let her know that you love her very much and that she's always in your thoughts. Tell her you'll always be willing to see her if she changes her mind, which you hope she does.

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