Help end medical misogyny. Sign our petition.

Help end medical misogyny.
Sign our petition.

Sign the petition

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Aibu wanting to cut off relationship w sons grandma?

15 replies

Slominas · 27/05/2026 12:10

First of all I want to preface this to note that my son’s grandma/exs mum is a completely normal lady. She is upper middle class and went uni, retired now, loves cooking and travelling. Rides bicycles and reads the guardian sort of lady. Loves her adult kids and is obsessed with her grandson. I note this cos I’m so astounded by her actions and when I write them down I feel like the only way they can come across is if they are the actions of like, a junkie, some cartel boss woman, someone who wants her kid to make money at all costs or a genuinely dumb person. Someone completely out of touch with reality, But she’s not any of those things at all. Anyway.

My toddler son’s dad was kicked out of our house due to his drug issues with ketamine and cocaine. He had started secretly using drugs in the house and I had caught him. He promised never again yada yada and then one morning I woke up to see drugs in the open in a spot my son could potentially access. He was kicked out immediately, big fight, police are called etc. he was kicked out and he moved back in with his mum and dad. after a few weeks of him not being allowed to see me or our son, I allowed him supervised visits. Eventually he realised that this wasn’t going to change, that he won’t be allowed back to live with us etc and after a few more weeks or so he decides he needs professional help & checks himself into a very strict rehab for one month.
When he was in rehab his mum found in their house a bag of ketamine worth roughly 500 pounds, Which in my country is not actually a huge volume of the drug due to its cost here but anyway. When he gets out he tells her he hadn’t paid for the bag, so he needs to give it back or his mate is gonna buy it so he can pay for it. She tells him she can’t remember where she put it. He brings it up a few more times over the following months, she says the same thing. I figure she’s already flushed it & is stalling, because as if she’s just gonna give him his drugs back.
Then last week (he’s been absolutely clean the last few months since rehab btw), he tells me he needs to go see a mate who I have told him I he cannot see if he wants a relationship with his son (on account of the fact that their friendship is only based on drugs). When I ask him wtf why, he says he needs to give him something, I ask what, he says his mum gave him the bag of drugs back…
I am fucking furious. What sort of person hands their son, who has had addiction issues for a decade, who has JUST been in rehab, a bag of their drug of choice?? Their son, who put her grandson, who she apparently loves more than anything, in danger due to that exact fkn drug?

I got my him to repeat it to me over and over to try and find some sense, like maybe he told her someone was gonna come cut off his ears? He said no he just asked for it again, and he is staunchly defensive of his mum and would absolutely lie and say he did say that, to make sure she didn’t seem like a shit person.
Maybe she just thought that on her own accord? Which would be dumb because it’s been 4 months since he went in to rehab and no one’s threatened him. And even still, these people are not short of money… I get not wanting to enable him by bailing him out, but if you’re so worried your sons gonna get harmed just give him the 500 pound and tell him to gtfo of their house or sell his computer to pay them back or some shit.
I can’t fathom what would lead to the decision to just hand your addict son who’s in n remission, trying to get better for his son, a bag of drugs.

Anyway essentially now I just want to cut her out. I can’t trust my kids dad, shit would be a lot easier if I could trust his support network and now I know I can’t, so that’s blown out window.
She very much believes in “it takes a village” or whatever, and clearly wants to position herself as someone my son will be very close with and can trust when he’s older- well I don’t want them having that relationship now. I can’t trust that she won’t do the worst possible thing and/or enable him if he has issues in life… what if he has drug issues one day and she just hands him a bag of drugs??

I don’t know if I’m being extreme tho and maybe it’s not that bad?
Maybe it’s just anger and she’s not unsafe for my son? And I am probably clouded by anger cos im furious. I’ve dealt with so much shit because of his addiction issues, thrown out 1000s of dollars worth of his drugs before without question… what hope did I ever have when his own mother is his #1 enabler?

She loves my son to pieces, I feel so guilty to cut her out, but am I being unreasonable in feeling she is not a safe person and wanting to do so?
Especially when ds still has a relationship with his dad, the one who actually put him in danger?

OP posts:
Passaggressfedup · 27/05/2026 12:49

For one, it wasn't hers, so keeping it destroying is stealing.

For two, part of coming clean is to take responsibility. If he relapses, he will find a way to get the stuff.

For three, there might a symbolic gesture of giving the stuff back to the guy. Some closure or something.

Why would you want to cut contact with your son just on that basis? I don't get it.

TheMillionthBeautyAddict · 27/05/2026 12:51

You’re coming across as someone who loves the drama tbh.

EmailsaysOOO · 27/05/2026 12:54

We don't know what she was thinking. Yes she sounds crazy but that's not a crime. Perhaps she thought he was going to have his legs cut off if they didn't get the drugs back, who knows . I think she genuinely loves her son and grandchild and I think you shouldn't cut her off purely based on this one bonkers action.

Octavia64 · 27/05/2026 12:57

Presume he owes shitloads of money to drugs people and is being threatened with physical violence or similar.

you don’t know the circs and your son’s dad clearly isn’t to be trusted either way so

1dayatatime · 27/05/2026 13:00

Look drug dealers tend not to be the most understanding of professions.

If he hadn't paid for the drugs and didn't return them- what do you think his "friend" might have done?

CieloElmers · 27/05/2026 13:08

I think you are over reacting. She was likely scared that if he didn’t give them back he may be in trouble. Maybe she wanted to test him to see if he would return them.

If he wants drugs he can easily find a way to get them.

I do understand however you must also be scared and worried about your son’s father relapsing, but remember so is she, it’s her son. The way you feel about your son is the way she feels about hers, she isn’t likely going to make rash decisions that could enable him to relapse.

PullingOutHair123 · 27/05/2026 13:13

Isn't he better off giving the drugs back rather than either keeping it? £500 is a lot of money to owe.

Perhaps his Mum (who lives with him) has decided that giving the bag of drugs to him to return was an ok risk to take, if he has been clean and is doing all the right things. Give the drugs back, then he can cut ties with this person with out always having to look over his shoulder?

I'm not saying your sons Dad is suddenly an OK 100% safe person to be around (and certainly not left with your child), but if he recognised the mess he was in, checked himself into rehab and is still doing well now at his Mum's, then perhaps his future is brighter. I hope so for all of you.

SisterMaryImmaculate · 27/05/2026 13:32

If the equation was give the gear back or get your house burnt down then I think she was entirely justified. He’s not going to tell you he was being threatened by his dealer because you’ll judge him unfit to be a father.
He’s giving you half a story which is unsurprising considering you’re just not getting that if a dealer wants his stash back, £500 isn’t cutting it.
Don’t be mad her for protecting her idiot son, be mad at him for stashing drugs for dickheads.

blubberyboo · 27/05/2026 13:43

I dont think its his mums responsibility to keep him off drugs. He will get them anyway so its seems wrong to blame her. She isnt enabling him by buying drugs or giving him money. She simply had no right to keep that batch.

Maybe he threatened her. Maybe someone threatened YOUR son. Maybe she decided to protect your son instead of her own. Maybe he wore her down, lied, manipulated. Maybe shes just had enough and decided he is old and ugly enough to make his own bad decisions.

Maybe you should ask her instead of blaming her for a mans choices.

There is no evidence yet she is a danger to your son. Plenty about his father though.

Relaxd · 27/05/2026 14:34

You don’t have to agree with her (and she’s allowed to do things differently to you) and maybe it would seem easier to just remove these differences from your own life - but to want to cut her out so extremely is disproportionate and rather unpleasant. No evidence that she is going to harm your child even if you find her hard to understand, and worth allowing your child to have a relationship with their grandparent.

tinyspiny · 27/05/2026 14:39

You are sounding like you are on some kind of power trip , of course you are unreasonable .

CurlewKate · 27/05/2026 14:49

Consider the possibility that she was scared for her own safety.

Endofyear · 27/05/2026 16:23

How do you know he's telling you the truth? He's a drug addict, they lie like they're breathing. Have you had a conversation with her about this?

Boomer55 · 27/05/2026 16:26

TheMillionthBeautyAddict · 27/05/2026 12:51

You’re coming across as someone who loves the drama tbh.

This. 🙄

YabbaDabbaDooooo · 27/05/2026 16:44

tinyspiny · 27/05/2026 14:39

You are sounding like you are on some kind of power trip , of course you are unreasonable .

Yes!

I couldn't put it into words but 'power trip' is definitely what I was thinking.

The child's going to grow up very lonely if the OP keeps cutting people out of his life when people don't do what she expects of them.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page