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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to feel sad that ds thinks I should work more just to buy him more stuff.

56 replies

lunamoon2 · 29/10/2009 22:05

Hi

Am feeling pissed off and upset.

Today foiund out that ds (nearly 11) stole a length of ribbon(?).
Haven't taken it back to the shop as only found out late.
Anyway calmly explained all the reasons why this is wrong.
Asked ds why he had done it as he couldn't really be in need of some ribbon.
He told me that he did it because I never buy him anything "good".
Turns out by good he means games for his xbox etc.
He also said it was because when he asks for things I tell him to wait until his birthday which is next month.
I calmly explained to him that he cannot have everything he wants in life and that it is very important not to get into debt over such things.
Both dh and I work(myself school hours to fit in with the family- I also have 2 other children). I explained that I don't earn a lot etc and ds response was that I should get a better job even if this means working very long hours all the time.

I am uset as I gave up work to look after my family believing this was the best thing to do. Perhaps I would be better thought of if I worked 60 hours a week and shoved him in nursery every school holiday and weekends too.
On top of this he moans if I say he can go to either grandparents house so it seems I can't win.

Just wanted to write it down as I am quite annoyed by his attitude.

Also he isn't complaining about clothes/food or the amount spent on hobbies just it appears expensive games.

Thanks for hearing me out.

OP posts:
CornishKK · 30/10/2009 08:47

I'm with kat2907, my sister and I both dabbled in shoplifting as children - sachets of hair dye etc . When my sister got caught she tried to say it was because my father had left and Mum didn't love her - classic teenager blame deflection technique.

Your son does not really want you to work more to buy him more shite, he knows he's in the wrong and trying to blame shift.

Sounds like you are doing a good job as a Mum

lunamoon2 · 30/10/2009 08:55

Hi all.

I am still in shock at ds response but feel better knowing that really I am not to blame.

I think he often compares himself to one of his friends who seems to get all the latest fads.
i remember him getting 2 very good presents from his parents for his birthday, something like an expensive mobile phone and a ds plus various games.
I have already explained to ds that his friend is an only one so his parents don't have to share their money between as many children as I do.
Think I will need to remind him of that.

I know that kids tend to pick up and notice the ones they percieve as better off than themselves rather than those with less iyswim.
He has been told he will have to clean his room today and dh is taking him back to the shop with the flaming ribbon.

OP posts:
diddl · 30/10/2009 09:02

Ours have to save pocket money up or wait for birthday/Christmas.

Occasionally they get a treat to the value of say ?10,or can keep money to put towards something.

They don´t get paid extra for any chores.

These they are expected to do as they are partof them learning how to look after themselves!

boundarybabe · 30/10/2009 09:04

Luna I don't have any experience of this (yet - DS is a baby still!), but if he's feeling hard done by would it help to point out the differences between what his better off friend's parents have compared to you? eg. it's not just him that has to wait until his birthday for expensive gifts, you have to too.

Also, on the subject of x box games - some shops do part exchange, perhaps it's worth getting him to save up his pocket money then make the decision to get a cheaper game by forgoing one he's already played?

diddl · 30/10/2009 09:05

Oops!

Went a -lot- bit OT there!

Of course YANBU to be upset.
But it´s not up to you to work to feed his "gaming habit"!

Is the theft really to do with xbox games or might he have been bullied/pressured into it?

OrmIrian · 30/10/2009 09:20

Oh don't be upset He didn't mean it - I'd put money on it. I expect he has a friend who has all the things that your DS wants and he gets envious.

Did you let him know how much he upset you? I think he needs to be told in no uncertain terms that this is the way things are he needs to suck it up!

Re shoplifting, recently DS1 (12) and I went out for the evening. We were chatting about this and that and I admitted that when I was about his age I took some stuff from a shop. Which prompted him to admit that he had too By which time I couldn't step back and take the moral attitude! So I told him that whilst I understood how it happens, it's unfair to steal from anyone, not to mention illegal I think that is the best way to deal with it - don't make it a huge deal but let him know it's not OK.

TheBlairSnitchProject · 30/10/2009 09:24

Is 11 old enough for a paper round? That would help teach him about working for money...

diddl · 30/10/2009 09:43

Yes, paper round or delivering the "free" papers just once a week?

OrmIrian · 30/10/2009 09:48

I think that you have to be 14 for a paper round.

gorionine · 30/10/2009 10:03

DD1 is 10 1/2 the others 8,5,3 they do not do too many chores arround but when they do I do not pay for them as I think part of being a family is to help each other and have as a reward the fact that you made someone happy. I do not "pay" either for good marks in school but DH and I do on occasion buy "on the spot" little gift (not a big money value but something we know they like)to show them that we do think of them not only as manual labour.

I think here is 13 for paper boy/girl.

I do not think it is unreasonnable to ask him to wait for a month to get a new game.

I am not sure either the stealing has anything to do with you in the sense that surely if it was "because you do not work enough to get him what he need" he would have stolen something he really needed rather than a piece of ribbon?

I would be tempted to spend some money intended for him on myself to see if he would think "it is not enough". My guess is he would think it is "too much" when spent on someone else than him! He might then reassess his demands and be a bit more grateful?

Longtalljosie · 30/10/2009 10:12

The thing is - unlike kat and Cornish - the OP's DS stole something completely useless. I can only think it was deliberately for attention - which makes me wonder what else is going on - is he being bullied, for example? How did you find out about the theft?

Morloth · 30/10/2009 10:15

Can he get a job? Do paper runs still exist? Are there any little jobs around for kids any more where they can earn money? Mow lawns? Wash cars? I have to say I would (will?) laugh at DS if/when he says something like that.

ObsidianBlackbirdMcNight · 30/10/2009 10:51

Yes josie but I stole something that my friend had asked me to get for her, it wasn't for me, and I couldn't take her money for it since I stole it! That was pretty useless too.

Stayingscarygirl · 30/10/2009 10:53

Both the older two dses have paper rounds, Morloth - they earn about £20-£25 a week. I believe that a child isn't allowed to do paid work until they are 13 years old.

Stayingscarygirl · 30/10/2009 10:54

PS - I did suggest to the younger two that they go round the street and see if they could set up a car washing or lawn mowing business - but they thought that sounded like too much effort, so I can't tell you if it would have worked!

notanumber · 30/10/2009 11:00

There are two issues here. There is the fact that he stole, and there is the his aggressive accusation about you not working.

As other posters have already said, they are actually two separate things and you need to treat them as such.

To be honest, nicking a bit of ribbon strikes me as nothing more than him just seeing if he could do it and pushing boundries which is very normal.

The fact that you've found out about it is encouraging. It wouldn't have been that hard to hide - on some level perhaps he wanted you to find out and tell him off - restablishing the safe boundries of childhood after he has dipped a toe into the scary world of adolescence.

Either way, your instict in dealing with it - punishment, making him return it to the shop - is sound, and you not be questioning your judgement on that. He has stolen and that is wrong. There are no mitigating circumstances, so do not allow yourself to be dragged into him trying to make you think that there are as a way of avoiding punishment.

With regard to the "you never buy me anything good" rant, I think it's worth remembering that eleven really is very little still. A child, even if he behaving like an agressive teenager.

Fairness and justice (at least when it comes to themselves) are so important to children.

Their perception that some of their peers have so much more than they do strikes them as monsterously unfair and wrong. The reasons for this are to some extent immaterial to them - it's just not fair and that's that.

I'm sure he really appreciates how much you have been around and intellectually he knows that this is better than a mother he sees less but buys him lots of things.

However, it's hard for children to balance that knowledge and understanding with their still very immature ability to have strategies for coping with coveting things that they can't have.

Like many of us, when we're backed into a corner with logic, children often take refuge in belligerence. It doesn't mean that they believe what they're saying. Sometimes admitting that you're wrong is very hard and so the only option open to you is to attack. Even if it means saying things you don't mean, to wound and to save face.

It is only the very rare child who will make it through adolescence without having at least a few instances of behaving in an appallingly selfish and unpleasant way. It doesn't make him a terrible badly brought-up child, nor does it make you an awful mother.

Give him an out. Don't become embroiled in a long on-going debate with him about what is and isn't reasonable for him to have, and how selfish and rude he's being and how important it is that he has a mother who is around for him and so on.

If you let it go, I think it's likely that he won't want to doggedly keep on with it either (particularly if he knows he is being unfair). It's worth remembering also that he knows how upset you are and that it's his fault. To an eleven year old, upsetting your mum is the worst thing in the world. He's probably terrified that you'll never forgive him that you really dislike him now and he doesn't know how to mend it.

Make him take the ribbon back. Decide the punishment (no TV for a week etc) and administer it.Then tell him that it's been a very disappointing episode but you hope that he's learned some lessons from it. Then let it go.

What's the point in picking at the wound and demanding sackcloth and ashes from him? What will it achieve? It's far better that he is able to walk away from the mess he's made (both the stealing and upsetting you) with some grace, knowing that it's over now and that you've drawn a line under in and given him a fresh slate.

It's been a horrid experience for you, but try to remember that this was not a concerted and deliberate attack on you. He's a child and he's made a mistake (two mistakes in fact - the theft and the attack on you). Be hopeful that he has started to learn a difficult and important life lesson and be proud that you have steered him through it.

sarah293 · 30/10/2009 11:05

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Bleh · 30/10/2009 11:09

YANBU to be upset. It may be that he's picked up that you going for a not-as-well-paid, but more family friendly job is an issue for you. It can be a major sacrifice, but he's too young/inexperienced to understand the reasoning behind it; he just knows saying that would wind you up.
How much does he do around the house? You could come up with an agreement where he does more around the house (doing dishes etc.) to earn more pocket money to buy games/whatever he wants. It is a pity in a way that he can't go out and get a paper route or something.

As for the stolen ribbon, maybe he's an aspiring gok wan and was wanting to accessorise some outfits?

PootleTheFlump · 30/10/2009 11:10

Poor you. I can't offer a parental persepctive (lo due any day!). However, when I was a child/teenager, we didn't have much money and my Mum worked in the evenings once my Dad was home to make money for extras. I often resented not having the latest this and that and am sure put my Mum under pressure to work. Then I used to make it hard for her to go to work, make a fuss about going to a childminder's when needed, and cite all the friends I knew whose Mum was there in the evenings very helpful I am sure!! Now, looking back, I have no idea what those felt tips or new skipping ropes or whatever were, and instead look back and appreciate how hard and thoughtfully my parents worked to ensure a home, extra-curricular activities and family time - those are the memories that stick.

Your son needs to realise that we cannot all have what we want all of the time, but he may will come to this conclusion himself, and it would be better for you to try and ignore his comments (v hard I know), as he is, as I was, a child with limited understanding of how it all works.

I think having to take ribbon back and apologise will be more than enough to put him of shoplifting btw!

Stayingscarygirl · 30/10/2009 11:19

Notanumber - that is a very insightful post, and the advice is spot-on!

notanumber · 30/10/2009 11:48
Stayingscarygirl · 30/10/2009 12:02

Oh - 'tis OK - I know I'm a bit thick - that's why I hope something will rub off!!

scottishmummy · 30/10/2009 12:18

he is 11 his adolescent brain has immediacy issues.they dont rationalise or think same as adults hence his very concrete thinking comment

i understand your annoyance.you do your very best and this feels like it being thrown back in your face.BUT honestly his comments are an honest thought out attack upon parents,more likely an expression of the competitive world children inhabit

he sounds like a good boy,getting it wrong. sit down as parents.
tell him you love him
explain you provide,be concrete about hours you work, what that involves
point out what you do do
explain clearly you cannot provide every material want but you will always love him

scottishmummy · 30/10/2009 12:20

BUT honestly his comments are not an honest thought out attack upon parents,more likely an expression of the competitive world children inhabit

lunamoon2 · 30/10/2009 12:56

Thanks again for all your comments.

I really dislike the materialism forced upon all children.
He does get private guitar lessons paid for and taken to football every week.
I haven't rerorted to shouting back at him how many long hours I have spent in the wind and rain watching him play football, when ideally I would rather be at home with my feet up watching tv.

He has done his homework and tidied up his room (in a fashion!).

He has also, without complaining, helped me sort out the conservatory so I can see some improvement. He isn't a bad boy and I know it is very difficult for all children to see others with more than themselves but that is life I guess. I do wish his friend's parents wouldn't buy their son so much though! But that is out of my hands.

OP posts: