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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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7
Festivespirit85 · 18/10/2025 00:40

pictoosh · 16/10/2025 09:14

I would love for everyone to make a universal decision to scale Christmas right down regarding gifts, spending and excess.
You can have a wonderful festive period without an orgy of spending, waste, gluttony and stress.

This is what my OH and I have been doing over the years. We used to go to both sets of parents on Christmas Day, which stopped soon after our eldest was born as we found it to be too much and our son just wanted to be at home with his presents. We only buy for certain people now. I've decided this year that I'm not doing a roast on Christmas Day, I'm going to do one boxing day instead. I feel we put too much pressure on ourselves instead of just chilling and enjoying the Christmas period

Kimura · 18/10/2025 01:06

Holiday0007 · 18/10/2025 00:35

@kimura I too was a victim, weeks of phone calls from my 'bank' posing as the fraud team! They had covered their number with the fraud team number. I consider myself fairly intelligent but I was sucked in. My bank reimbursed me the 2k when I phoned the actual fraud team! Have you tried this. There's a newish law which covers fraud like this.

I was reimbursed as well thankfully, minus £100 'idiot tax' which I felt was quite fair considering. Glad you got sorted too!

They were absolutely fiendish with me - they hacked a family member's social media account and messaged me from it, asking if I could cover a bill for them, as they'd just got a new phone and they'd had a problem setting up their internet banking. They then sent me their 'new' number and said they'd send me the transfer details via txt as they didn't trust that social media platform with their bank details - which is exactly the kind of thing that family member would say, haha.

I transferred the money as requested - I'll be honest, I was battling a killer hangover at the time which probably didn't help my judgement - and it was only when they went on to ask for more money for some nonsense reason that I twigged it was a scam.

Lesson learned!

Shoulderscuff · 18/10/2025 01:11

I'm not entertaining anybody, any bullshit going forward.
My husband and kids will work it out

Thehop · 18/10/2025 01:14

Soveryitchy · 15/10/2025 22:45

I have psoriasis in my arse crack. Went to a dermatologist who diagnosed it as such and prescribed a cream with limited success, then she prescribed injections which haven't worked either. Never told anyone else, not my mum my sister or even my husband. I use the loo at work multiple times a day to scratch it. It flares up and down, but it's always there. I've been nearly suicidal over it as I cannot function with a permanently itchy arse crack. Going for a poo is an ordeal. Sometimes the itch has become consuming while driving and I'm legitimacy worried I will cause an accident.

Try a company called wild and wood. Look at the pictures on social media. Cleared my friends psoriasis up really fast.

DBSFstupid · 18/10/2025 02:43

CrispsPlease · 17/10/2025 14:51

It sounds as though you've been to hell and back. But I'll be honest: I do wince at reading that you "don't love her" that's the worst thing a mother can say about their child. Believe me, she'll know that.
I've heard "I don't like you but I still love you" which is still quite something, but "I don't love her" is quite a statement. Unless she's a paedophile or she murdered a sibling or something, I can't see how you can write a daughter off so completely. You have no obligation to answer any of this. But it does make for hard reading. You can't help wondering whether your daughter picked up your "nothingness" towards her from day 1. Chicken/egg.

I agree.
The post makes for uneasy reading.
What the hell has the daughter done that means the Mother doesn't actually love her?
How utterly awful and terribly sad.
The daughter will of course know and maybe that has influenced her behaviour.

DBSFstupid · 18/10/2025 02:52

Apologies @amibeingaknob I have seen your later update.
I'm sorry you feel like this.💙

Downunderduchess · 18/10/2025 05:55

SmallDogsAreScary · 17/10/2025 13:27

Not the same, because to say this:
So I always make sure I'm kind and supportive about it, almost overly so
is actually coming across as a bit creepy 😬

I'd hate to think that any of my friends or family view me as an object of pity and someone that needs to be "supported" for making their own life choices.

💯 agree! It sounds disingenuous. If you are a kind and supportive person you don’t have to “always make sure” you are. You just are. Why bother saying it if you don’t mean it? Pointless.

NewAgeNewMe · 18/10/2025 06:19

Confessionsthrowaway · 18/10/2025 00:30

In what way? I have heard this before and I don't think it's true at all.

It’s not a spoilt thing with the DCs I have known. It’s little things I have observed, they are so used to being the centre of attention that they never have to wait for it and learn that at either nursery or school. They are lovely children but they had a confidence that mine & others with siblings didn’t have.

uniqueme · 18/10/2025 06:34

Everyone needs to work in retail for a month - ideally December.

I can see an aura in people that haven’t worked in the industry. On a few occasions when customers were being rude, I asked them have they ever been working in retail or customer service. These all said no and I said I thought you were going to say no as it shows. Plus done that as a customer in other shops.

If working in retail for a month doesn’t change these rude people’s attitudes, then nothing will, as nasty people.

Crs25 · 18/10/2025 07:32

@amibeingaknob I don't judge you at all, infact I actually really feel for you. I do really want to know though what she did that made you feel the way you do out of curiosity, even if you were to change some examples so they're not the same but similar, I'd genuinely be interested. I do hope you're doing okay, and I'm glad you're in a support group.

Olinguita · 18/10/2025 07:37

NewAgeNewMe · 18/10/2025 06:19

It’s not a spoilt thing with the DCs I have known. It’s little things I have observed, they are so used to being the centre of attention that they never have to wait for it and learn that at either nursery or school. They are lovely children but they had a confidence that mine & others with siblings didn’t have.

Fair enough.
However - as a mum of an only child, I don't really invest in friendships with mothers of more than one child because I know they are judging me and that they see me and my kid as other/different. I mean, don't get me wrong, I wouldn't freeze them out socially and I'm cordial to my son's friends, invite them round for playdates etc, so no-one would ever know, but my guard is always up. Why would I seek out friendship with people who don't see me as being on a level with them or who are waiting for my kid to do something "odd" or to make a mistake socially? Fyi having an only child wasn't entirely a choice, it was just the way my life panned out, shit happens 🤷‍♀️

NewAgeNewMe · 18/10/2025 07:45

Well my oldest dc had 2 good friends at primary who were an only child and were the loveliest well brought up children. I have never judged a mum for only having one, as you say shit happens. I had several mcs & count myself lucky to have had 2.

Anthempart2 · 18/10/2025 07:48

DBSFstupid · 18/10/2025 02:43

I agree.
The post makes for uneasy reading.
What the hell has the daughter done that means the Mother doesn't actually love her?
How utterly awful and terribly sad.
The daughter will of course know and maybe that has influenced her behaviour.

It’s very sad but maybe there’s reasons.

Women (mums) are expected to endure an awful lot uncomplainingly and while still providing endless love, care and support.

I myself wince at reading long, desperate posts by mums whose older teens and young adults beat them up, steal from them, call them unspeakable names, yet still expect spending money, their meals mad, their laundry done etc - some of it is like a very high level domestic abuse relationship

I had a very difficult upbringing as referenced above which left me with significant MH issues. I had my first in my mid 20s and it does feel like I’ve spent my life either being abused on some level or providing care to others - we have no family help so I haven’t had a ‘date night’ with DH in 6 years now and thanks to the fact they’re terrible sleepers I’m just permanently exhausted. I think I’m a good enough mother, but honestly I feel like my tank is half empty and i know for a fact if my child ended up like the above there is no way I have the energy to spend another 30 years ‘parenting’. I said to DH what keeps me going is the light at the end of the tunnel, the thought that one day I will be free to lie in, spend weekends as I choose, go on holiday.

So it depends on the circumstances.

uniqueme · 18/10/2025 07:50

Each early December for the past few years, people have turned to SM as had two Bounty sweets on consecutive days in their Celebrations advent calendar. They say they hate them.

If you don’t like a chocolate in one of those chocolate tubs, why do you buy the AC of it? As if there are 7 varieties in the collection, you will be getting at least 3 of your disliked chocolate!

padsi1975 · 18/10/2025 08:01

Wellyoudidaskaboutit · 16/10/2025 10:40

If they are, removing them is doubly important.

😆😆

Anywhereelsebuthere · 18/10/2025 08:26

that I don’t actually like my friends. All they want to do is sit in someone’s house slagging people off. I only keep them because I would rather have some friends than no friends. And Making new friends at 40+ is hard

Catsfredwilma · 18/10/2025 08:54

And I have realised that my friends don’t care about me (other than one amazing couple).
I had a best friend for 35 years, who spoke/messaged every day. She suffered from severe anxiety, would regularly call/message throughout the night. I was always there, replying, offering support. Covid was a nightmare for her, her anxieties went through the roof. The GP put her in medication, it’s been amazing, her life has improved so much. Her anxiety has almost disappeared, completely life changing. I am so pleased for her.
But I have been dumped, never hear from her, always too busy to respond to me, or see me. Might exchange a superficial message once a month. She has new friends now!
It’s been a hard lesson for me. I realise we were best friends because I supported her more than anyone else. I am
not needed now.
It’s made me realise that most of my friends are only interested when they want something from me. They don’t message to ask how I am, the friendships are based on what I can do for them.

BlueDressontheLine · 18/10/2025 08:59

Im quite transactional in relationships. I think that makes me a user. Im always a bit sad.

Olinguita · 18/10/2025 08:59

NewAgeNewMe · 18/10/2025 07:45

Well my oldest dc had 2 good friends at primary who were an only child and were the loveliest well brought up children. I have never judged a mum for only having one, as you say shit happens. I had several mcs & count myself lucky to have had 2.

I'm so sorry about your miscarriages, and happy for you that you have your two children now. Your post is a good reminder that you never know what another mum has gone through. And thanks for the positive words about the well-brought up onlies your DC knows, that's always encouraging to hear!

NewAgeNewMe · 18/10/2025 09:01

💐💐

topcat2014 · 18/10/2025 09:49

When I started work I used to think "who are all these grumpy old bastards in the workplace" - I now realise that life had happened to them..and might be turning into one myself too young to retire

Vroomfondleswaistcoat · 18/10/2025 10:04

uniqueme · 18/10/2025 06:34

Everyone needs to work in retail for a month - ideally December.

I can see an aura in people that haven’t worked in the industry. On a few occasions when customers were being rude, I asked them have they ever been working in retail or customer service. These all said no and I said I thought you were going to say no as it shows. Plus done that as a customer in other shops.

If working in retail for a month doesn’t change these rude people’s attitudes, then nothing will, as nasty people.

I (and all my mates in the supermarket where we work) say that there should be a form of National Service, where everyone is forced to do a stint in retail. It might turn them into better people, or at least more understanding of the fact that, yes, it's busy, no, I can't 'just call another person to the till' because the management are running us on a shoestring to make more money and there's only me on the shopfloor because my two colleagues are out the back unloading cages and trying desperately to keep the shelves stocked so there is something for you to buy!

You can always tell the people who've worked in retail. They are the only ones who take their baskets back...

amibeingaknob · 18/10/2025 10:43

Crs25 · 18/10/2025 07:32

@amibeingaknob I don't judge you at all, infact I actually really feel for you. I do really want to know though what she did that made you feel the way you do out of curiosity, even if you were to change some examples so they're not the same but similar, I'd genuinely be interested. I do hope you're doing okay, and I'm glad you're in a support group.

I couldn't express it here adequately, and people would chime in that it was understandable or not depending on their leanings. I find human psychology fascinating because we all judge and we all think 'i would never do that' but actually we really don't know. There is another thread here with people saying they would support their child even if they were in prison for a terrible crime. Weirdly I would. But this I can't because if she is in my life she will destroy it.

For me, it was that I was in an abusive relationship with her father, emotionally physically mentally psychologically. When I left she was 16 and she was beginning to act like him, and when I left she helped him to continue his abuse - she was essentially doing her fathers dirty work. Stalking me, sabotaging my work and relationships, malicious reporting (to my work/family/friends/landlords/DWP), her siblings, it was endless. She was physically abusive to me too. For years and years I tried with her, because I blamed myself for staying with her dad for so long and saw that as why she was like she was. The straw that broke the camels back was when she helped him in court over custody by lying and this deeply hurt me, and her younger siblings. She told the court reporter that I used to masturbate in front of her when she was a child. All lies of course, but that was the end for me. I will never ever forgive her for that.

There is so much more, but that was what broke me. She has gone on, however, to try and alienate my younger children from me and tell them lies about me. She helped her father cause so so much damage and she continues to. She truly wants me to believe I am mad and bad. He no longer has access to me, so he uses her to abuse me, and cutting her off was the only way to save myself. Loving her almost destroyed me. This may sound dramatic but it is a fact. I tried to kill myself over it many times (i wasnt very good at it). I cant be on social media, I cant reveal my address, I am basically 'in hiding' from her and my ex husband. She is a very very dangerous individual. And she is cruel. if she knew where I worked what I did for a living she would contact my boss (as she has in the past) and write messages about how awful I am. When this happened int he past it was professionally mortifying and damaging.

My therapy was very much based around the fact I was always looking behind her behaviour, trying to understand it, make excuses for her, that it was my fault because I raised her in that home and she was modelling what she saw, but I spent YEARS apologising and trying to 'make amends' but ultimately she was an adult who was still abusing me and I allowed it. She still would now if she could get access to me.

I have not told her I don't love her. I would never be that cruel. I have told her that I love her deeply, think about her all the time as a child and I treasure those times (I do), but I will never be able to forgive her and I want nothing to do with her. I have also had to threaten the police many times (which she ignores).

I have come a long way, because writing this does make me a bit worried about judgements and comments I may have, but not anywhere near as much as it would have done 3 years ago. I know Im a good person, I was and am a good mother, and I know I did not deserve this. I deserved better and to be treated by my child with love and respect. I didn't get that. I have had to move on and put myself first. Quite frankly if I didn't my mental health would be utterly destroyed and I may not even be here.

Horsemama11 · 18/10/2025 11:01

Very very controversial and I would never say it out loud. While I believe a woman has to be the one to decide (or not) to go ahead with a pregnancy I also think the man involved should have an “opt out” choice made clear to the mother that should she go ahead she will be doing so alone so she can then make an informed choice. It seems unfair to me thy they get no say at all. I do not think for one moment he has the right to an opinion on abortion in any way though.

Tobleroneswillbemyundoing · 18/10/2025 11:05

If you have been in a relationship for years, had children together, made a home, THEN decide to get married, it isn't a wedding, it's a party.

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