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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

By refusing to let my partners grandparents see our 7 month old son?

19 replies

feelingreallylow · 25/10/2008 19:30

If you read other messages by me you will see me and my partner had a bad falling out ad we split up for a certain amount of time. Basically when we fell out his mother (hes a mummys boy) told a policeman I neglect our son. Then after the split I got reported to Social Services. I now refuse to let his parents see our son as I don't trust them at all. Am I wrong as my partner thinks I am.

OP posts:
mumoverseas · 25/10/2008 19:39

I don't think you are actually 'wrong' but I can understand why you have refused contact. Why would they have reported you to the police and social services? If out of spite, then definitely wrong but don't lower yourself to their level. At the end of the day, if they are not happy with you refusing contact, then their only option would be an application through the courts (but first they would need to seek leave - permission of the court, to make such an application). I can understand why you don't trust them but when your DS is older he may want to see them so perhaps you could arrange supervised contact, either supervised by you, or if you can't stand being in the same room as them (which I could understand) maybe a member of your family or a mutual friend. To be honest, they have a lot of bridges to build by the sounds of it and a lot of grovelling to do. In the meantime, send them photos and give them updates on DS and hopefully they will mellow a bit and give you the apology you deserve.

danceontherun · 25/10/2008 19:41

I don't think you're in the wrong. It's stupid of your MIL to report you to the police then expect to see your DS. She is obviously used to getting what she wants. Sounds like you're protecting him by not letting her see him!!

SuckyMuckyCock · 25/10/2008 19:44

i dont think your wrong
v. stupid MIL. keep the DIL sweet if you want to see your GKs

Twelvelegs · 25/10/2008 19:49

Perhaps your MIL needs to apologise as your ds loses GPs. My ILs rarely see my children and it's mainly my doing, as in if I forgave them and forgot that they're wankers we'd see them more. My inability and unwillingness to budge does mean my dcs lose out.

feelingreallylow · 25/10/2008 19:59

Well as it stands, my partners mum won't say sorry. The reason they accused me of neglecting our son was because me and my partner were rowing and the police got involved. He didn't say a word about it. My partners parents live 200 miles away and he wants to take our son their by himself. I am not happy about it at all and have said that they cannot see our son as I do not believe they have his best interests at heart. My partner says he thinks I am out of order. Dance you are right about his mum getting what she wants, she still slags me off now till this day about everything I do. She has her son under her thumb and he basically does what she wants.

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Spero · 25/10/2008 20:00

I can understand why you are upset and angry with them. they did a stupid and hostile thing which must have been very hard to cope with.

But, could their behaviour be explained at least in part by their strong feelings for their grandchild? I think he has a right to as many people as possible in his life who will love him.

Plus, won't it cause friction with your partner if you refuse to let his parents be involved?

I'd say, take it slow and if they can't appreciate how lucky they are to be given a second chance and behave very well, you can drop them without regrets.

Spero · 25/10/2008 20:03

Sounds like this is not just about seeing your son. Sounds like this is going to tear your relationship up as well.

If they want to see him, how about saying they travel to your area? and your partner has got to stand up for you to his mum, whatever the rights and wrongs you are upset by her behaviour.

If he can't or won't, i think you've got bigger problems than contact with the grandparents.

feelingreallylow · 25/10/2008 20:15

Well his parents told my partner that they refused to come to the are as they had no reason to. They even now act as though my other 2 children from a previous relationship don't exist and didn't bother to send a birthday card to my sons 7th birthday although they had sent a card the previous year. They basically want to have it where I don't exist and its just my partner and our son. His mum informed me that our son had my partners surname and would never be a part of my family surname.

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Twelvelegs · 25/10/2008 20:16

You and your partner need to be united or his parents will always feel you and your feelings are unimportant. You need to find a way of getting this through to your dp.
It shouldn't be about winning and losing it should be about your ds, however your ds is so young and allowing your MIL to 'win' means that you are left disrespected and this can only be damaging to your ds. So to come full circle you are the most important person in your family as an advocate and carer of your DS, you need to know that your feelings are more important to your dp than his mother's.

Spero · 25/10/2008 20:19

Well fuck them, if that's their attitude. If they can't be bothered to travel to see him then I agree, this isn't about a relationship with him, its about exerting power over you and your partner.

But unless your partner decides to grow a pair and stand up to them, I can't see a happy ending I'm afraid.

QuintessentialShadows · 25/10/2008 20:25

YABU.
If you are rowing so bad that the police gets involved, they are caring grandparents who wants the best for their grandchild.

Prove them wrong about you. Let them see their grandchild, rather than keep the feud going. It takes two to argue. I think you are in the wrong.

They cant apologise for showing concern for the situation. They acted in the best interest of a small child caught in the middle of rowing parents. I am really sorry you cant see that.

feelingreallylow · 25/10/2008 20:31

The police weren't called to our house, our row happened in town when his parents were down for the weekend. The police heard shouting and came over. Thats when she accused me of neglect.

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needmorecoffee · 25/10/2008 20:34

I keep the in-laws away as much as possible. Far as I'm concerned, anyone who says we should get dd adopted so we can have a 'proper' baby doesn't deserve to be a grandparent.
You know what is best for your son. Just cos their family doesn't give them 'rights' or justify crappy behaviour.

nooOOOoonki · 25/10/2008 20:39

needmorecoffee - I didnt realise they had said that to you what fuckers

needmorecoffee · 25/10/2008 20:41

some grandparents don't deserve to see the kids. They should show respect to the mother of those children first.

ShyBaby · 25/10/2008 20:44

When I first read this my thoughts were "yes, yabu".

But. I thought about my ex mil (ok, we weren't married but you know what I mean). She was an absolute cow to me, for no reason whatsoever until the day she found out I was pregnant.

Up until I had ds and for a few months afterwards. Then they offered to look after him while I worked and without going into it too much they made my life hell. They basically took over and slated me for everything they possibly could, lied to me and treated ds as their own. This included things such as taking him to the doctors all the time when there was nothing wrong with him, telling me the gp had said he had various allergies (I checked, no such thing was ever said). Changing him out of his own clothes as soon as he got there into second hand cast offs (nothing wrong with second hand btw, but he had his own lovely new pfb clothes), throwing away the fresh meals we had cooked for him and taking him to McDonalds.....That woman was the reason I had to start taking anti depressants and a big factor in the split between me and her darling son.

After about 3 years it ended the day ds's grandfather came running out to the car, yanked open the door and told me I was neglectful and making ds's life hell for trying to get him out of needing a dummy. I blew my stack, said a few things I shouldn't have and he never went there again.

I told them they could see him, but I would not be taking him to their house and they would not be setting foot in mine (was living apart from ds's dad by this time). If his dad wanted to take him to see them or they wanted to pick him up...yes.

Funnily enough they never bothered, can't say I missed them much .

feelingreallylow · 25/10/2008 20:47

Needmorecoffee, my partners parents have been rude to me for ages. If it wasn't them trying to act as though me and my 2 eldest children weren't a part of the family then his mum was making snide remarks to me. Now we have our own son together, it got worse. The row that happened between me and my partner was because of his mum anyway. She still denies this mind you. They are the most nastiest pieces of work I have ever known.

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MadamDeathstare · 25/10/2008 22:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

codtrolfreaky · 25/10/2008 22:47

flr, this sounds really difficult...

i do think the key here is communication between you and dp..... what does he think of her past / present behaviour? is he able to say that you and ds come before her? without presenting a united front you are in a v difficult position. forget the old bag for a bit and concentrate on communicating with dp about this and getting him to understand things from your point of view... have been where you are now. good luck.

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