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Lone parents

Use our Single Parent forum to speak to other parents raising a child alone.

Dilemma! What do I say to him? (sorry it's a bit long...)

58 replies

butterflywings · 24/04/2007 00:35

My XP & I always had a very on/off relationship, so when I got PG he decided that he didn't want to stick around. He said, after DD was born, that he really wanted to see her. He came to see her 3 times in all over the next 6mths & we didn't see him again.
XP got in contact again last Nov & I told him that I didn't want DD to know who he was if he was going to disappear after a few months. He swore to me that he would never do that. At the end of Feb, I started letting XP & DD go out on their own around 3 times per week. He also babysits once a month. But, there are some things that I'm not happy with:
1. He's sometimes 20mins late collecting DD & sometimes texts me 20mins after he's supposed to collect DD saying that he can't make it. And he never knows when they'll back.
2. Calls me lazy 'cause I'm a SAHM in front of DD & picks at everything I say. DD is picking up on it & she now calls me lazy
3. Doesn't put reins on DD when in buggy. I told him that he really ought to & he told me that he'd gone over a kerb with her once & she fell out, hitting her head! He still brings her back without the reins on...
4. Encourages DD to go wrong way up slide. Sounds fussy, I know, but she could have an accident and he's undoing things I've taught her.
5. Doesn't listen to me when I try to offer him advice about DD (see 2 & 3)
6. Not happy with them seeing his friends. Most of his friends have criminal records (theft, car robbery, being drunk and disorderly, drugs & violence).
7. Sulks if I forget to contact him. I once didn't contact him for a week 'cause it was my dad's b-day, so he started a row with me over MySpace (sending public messages, would you believe?!) saying he was really p%£$ed off with me & accused me of trying to stop him seeing DD. When I said that it wasn't appropriate to have a row over the 'net, he denied that he was.
8. His new DP... I'm really angry that he didn't ask me if he could introduce them, esp. since she's the person he left me for He hasn't even got the guts to tell me that he has a new DP - I had to find out from his family. DD came back with a daisy-chain the other day & he said that he'd made it for her. I later found out that his DP had made it. God knows why he couldn't just tell me she'd made it - did he think I was going to hire a hit-man to kill her just 'cause she made DD a daisy-chain?! Makes me uneasy though... Are they playing happy-families together with my DD??
He's babysitting this Friday night & I want to speak to him about it when I get back (it's the only chance I'll get to do it when DD isn't around). The thing is, I'm really rubbish at confrontations & I don't know where to begin. I want to let him know that he can't carry on like this but I don't want him to say that I'm a "won't-let-father-see-his-kids-just-'cause-I-feel-like-it" mother (see 7)
I would be really grateful if anyone has any advice on this kind of situation because I'm really dreading it!
Thanks for reading such a long message, by the way

OP posts:
alipiggie · 24/04/2007 00:50

Firstly, get off Myspace. Never ever use a Public Forum to air your grievances. If he's using it to attack you - remove yourself from that situation. I think you should seriously get legal advice - ring CAB and see what they see. But to be honest - he's not exactly setting a good example for his child is he!!! He didn't want to know his daughter when she was a baby, why the sudden interest now? I'm curious. He should have discussed introducing his new DP to DD with you before the event, because it could certainly have been very unsettling. I"m sure others will come along with more advice. Take care.

butterflywings · 24/04/2007 01:01

Thanks alipiggie
I did think about going to the CAB but I didn't think it was serious enough for that..? Do you know what kind of thing thay can do for me? I don't really want to be going to court or anything like that if I can help it...
I asked him why he was suddenly interested in DD and he said that a mate of his had been going on about settling down and starting a family and he thought that maybe it was time for him to get in touch with us.

OP posts:
SittingBull · 24/04/2007 05:44

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Freckle · 24/04/2007 07:11

As primary carer, you have control of the situation. I think you need to set out clear conditions for continued contact as these are in your dd's best interest. If he won't adhere to these, then you need to think about cutting down contact or even stopping it altogether.

You won't need to go to court about it. He would have to issue proceedings (does he have parental responsibility? If not he will have to apply for that first.). Keep a diary of everything that has happened, when he places dd in danger (e.g. the reins and hitting her head). Sounds to me as though he views her as some sort of trophy to show to his mates.

Don't get into a debate or slanging match online. Just set out your conditions and tell him he has to take it or leave it. Then it's down to him.

Freckle · 24/04/2007 07:13

When I say you won't need to go to court, I mean that you wouldn't need to issue proceedings. Obviously if he does, then you will need to take legal advice - but do you think he feels strongly enough about this to take that sort of action?

butterflywings · 24/04/2007 16:44

Thanks SB & Freckle
I feel a bit more at ease now about confronting him, knowing what I can do if he refuses to comply. I think my problem is, that I've made it all too easy for him to gain access in the first place and now he's taking it for granted..

SB - I forgot to mention that he has criminal records too... for the same type of things as his mates. And he dosen't drive, but I don't know if his DP does though.
And the "lazy" thing makes me look bad in front of DP, so what are they saying about me when they go out together??

Freckle - I think you're absolutely right, DD is a trophy for him. He shows her off to say 'look at me, aren't I all grown up and responsible now that I have a daughter?'
And no, he doesn't have parental responsibility for her but I think she does mean so much to him that he would apply for it. Thinking about his criminal record though, he might not want to go as far as taking me to court over this.

Hmmmm... well, if he doesn't want to co-operate, I'll definitely go to the CAB.
He's sulking this week because I'm potty training DD and he has to see her at our house.

OP posts:
SittingBull · 24/04/2007 21:19

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Lwatkins · 24/04/2007 22:52

It takes more than sperm to be a father. To be honest you ex sounds like he is totally taking the p**s with everything. In some respects it sounds very much the case of he found it all too easy to just walk back into your lives after he left, and now he thinks he can just do whatever suits him.

But you are the mother with the full term parental responsibility for your little girl, and her wellbeing is important. And if you feel for one second that she is in any way shape or form not being looked after properly when she is with him then you have every right to stop this man seeing her as freely as he does.

Sit him down and sternly tell him the rules. You have worked very hard to bring you dd up how you see fit and it is totally unacceptable for him to just walk back in and tear it all apart. Make it clear to him that unless you see some changes and improvements then he will only be getting supervised visits at your home at a time that suits YOU, not HIM. All issues regarding safety need to be addressed asap, as does the fact that he is undermining you infront of your child. Make it clear that if he isn't gonna make the changes, you will and they won't be to his liking.

As for you dreading it, I understand it will feel a bit daunting to approach the matter. But you are an adult and a mother so I have every confidence that you will put your foot down with this man and tell him how it's done. If he doesn't like it, tough s**t - where was he when the rules were set up? He left, not you. Do not let this man walk all over you, put him in his place with how things need to be done.

Good luck and keep us posted

butterflywings · 24/04/2007 22:54

Hmmmm... his last misdemeanour was years ago so I thought I could trust him to be ok with DD...

Or was I just being soft again?!

Oh dear
Well, I am definitely going to keep a diary too because he's very good at twisting words and 'forgetting' things that we've said to each other.

OP posts:
butterflywings · 24/04/2007 23:02

Awww, thankyou LW I like a straight-talker! You don't fancy talking to him for me d'ya? lol

Well, unfortunately, the only time I'll get to talk to him on his own will be Friday night, when I get back from the pub. But at least I'll have a little dutch courage!

OP posts:
Lwatkins · 24/04/2007 23:12

Oh sweetie I'll come and sort him out for you no probs! You anywhere near the Bristol area? Or I'll be in Scotland in 2 weeks if that's any better lol. I'm also nearly 36 weeks pregnant with raging hormones. I think the threat of me sitting on him alone would have him backing down and playing to your rules in no time

You'll be grand. Just have to sort out my exp issues now and all will be shining in the world

butterflywings · 24/04/2007 23:25

Haha Nah, I'm in Worcestershire.
I think he might actually be scared of a 36wk PG woman sitting on him as he's uber-skinny - he weighs less than 9 stone!

Your XP being an arse as well? It's alright for them, they can run off and leave us to do all the hard work and then come back (maybe) when it's all blown over, and have them for just a couple of hours - no nappy changes or anything!
Hope you've got plenty of support from friends and family though

OP posts:
Lwatkins · 24/04/2007 23:46

Oh I haven't heard from him in months. It might sound selfish but I don't think of her as 'our' baby, she's just mine iyswim? He said he wanted contact blah blah blah, but we don't get on very well, which has clouded his mind a wee bit with regards to the baby. He doesn't see her, he just see's me and gets angry if that makes any sort of sense.

I'll do the right thing though. He can see her if he wants. But it'll be on my terms, in my house at a time that suits me and her. I'll make sure that when he sees her I've got a friend/family member around so that I don't have to sit in with him. Let him get on with it and I can go have a chat with a friend for a couple of hours.

Bol**cks to them all, that's what I say.

Lwatkins · 24/04/2007 23:49

Oh and yes, have an amazingly supportive family and nice set of friends. I don't feel like I need him at all, but it'd be nice for bean to know her daddy. Just cause I think he's a s**t, doesn't mean he'll be a bad father. We'll see.

Lwatkins · 24/04/2007 23:53

Oh but I'll be making sure he gets a poo filled nappy to change at some point. And I'll sit back and watch feeling glee swirl through my body! Pure entertainment that one will be

butterflywings · 25/04/2007 00:08

Yep, I was like that when I was preggers too. DD was my baby - he just supplied me with the sperm! My BIL said to me when XP left, "He may have fathered your child, but he'll never be her Dad"
And even though he's back on the scene after two years, he still isn't, in a way. Because I've brought her up and provided her with everything she needs.

I wish I'd done what you're going to - that way he wouldn't know what he's missing when I give him his new 'rules'.

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butterflywings · 25/04/2007 00:13

Hahahaha! At the moment, DD is filling her nappy around bedtime so XP has a dirty nappy change when he babysits but I'm never there to witness it though...

If you can, try to get your XP to change one of the early ones - they're nice and runny!

(Sorry if that's too much info!)

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Lwatkins · 25/04/2007 01:17

Ahhhh butterflywings, I have a feeling your going to become my future partner in crime when it comes to our exp's! Giggle giggle, no not to much info at all. Though it might be just too much for him too handle. Oh now him doing the nappy changing is just gonna totally make up for the 9 months of total abandonment

Lwatkins · 25/04/2007 01:20

Poor sod won't know what's hit him! All the while I'll be sat there as smug as anything thinking, your a twt and your up to your elbows in s*t!

nappyaddict · 25/04/2007 02:40

the reins thing is important obviously. and calling you lazy wtf? aren't you studying atm? studying and looking after a child is hard!

i personally wouldn't be bothered about the slide. i was always allowed to go up the slide the wrong way as a child as long as there was no one else playing on it - it was good fun.

it is also not acceptable being late without telling you he will be - you might have somewhere to be. on the other hand if he doesn't drive does he rely on public transport. not sticking up for him but sometimes they are a pain in the arse! the not turning up is not fair on your dd. you don't say how old she is but as she gets older she will start to feel rejected. this happened to a friend of mine. she stopped telling her ds when he was meant to be seeing his dad to avoid the disappointment when he didn't show and it was a nice surprise for him if he did.

it is quite common for dads not to really get involved til the child hits about 18months to 2 years old whether you are still with them or not. as she is talking and in a pushchair i am guessing she is around this age, probably no older than 4?

SofiaAmes · 25/04/2007 05:21

In my opinion it's important for a child to have a relationship with its father. My dh is an absolutely fantastic father, but his ex has really destroyed his relationship with his 2 kids with her. Funnily enough he sounds a lot like your ex. He has a criminal record, but he had it when I met him and he had it when I chose to have children with him. It's from his past and really not relevant to his ability to be a good and loving father. And I suspect your ex is the same...otherwise you wouldn't have chosen to have a child with him.

Dh is always late for everything. So is my father. And so is my boss. All of them are wonderful responsible fathers. It hasn't stopped my father from becoming a famous scientist and my boss from becoming a successful architect. It's just bloody annoying. I have learned to plan around it, since it doesn't seem likely to change. Certainly not a reason, in my opinion to wreck healthy father daughter relationship.

It's completely unacceptable for your dh to call you "names" in front of your dd. I think that if you broach this subject without bringing up any of the others, you may come across as wanting to correct one thing and not just nagging about lots and therefore have more success at changing the behavior. My dh used to do the same because that's all he ever heard in his family growing up. Now he really does try to modify his behavior and only say positive things about and to me in front of the kids. Of course, since he is male, he does need frequent reminding.

Not fastening the reins on the buggy is dumb, but not really life threatening. I'm not quite sure how old your dd is, but you could put her "in charge" of reminding your ex to fasten the reins. I did this with my dc's and it actually worked really well. Dd would screech incessantly until dh fastened her up. She did it with the car seat too.... Ds was less on top of the reminding.... but then again he too is male.

Up the slide thing is really not something to be worrying about in the big picture of things. If you teach her good manners and playground etiquette, she will take that with her through life regardless of what her dad lets her do. Save your energy for the bigger problems.

Don't really understand the forgetting to contact him issue. Doesn't he have your phone number? If he doesn't, then he should and if he does, then just ignore the sulking....like you would that of a little child.

Men are really dumb about things like being straight forward about dp. Just ignore it. Dh used to do stupid things like not tell his ex that I had cooked dinner for the kids or something similar. He had some theory that it would get her riled up. Of course what got her riled up was the lack of the full truth (and the fact that's she's completely bonkers...but that's another issue).

Altogether, I think that you are really doing your daughter a big favor by making the extra effort to keep her father in her life, despite his dumb and annoying male behavior. My friend once gave me some advice for dealing with men...after everything they do and say, add the words in your mind "mental age of 12." It really does make it all a bit more understandable. And good luck....it really will be worth it. I have a friend whose son has just turned 18 and he has become a really wonderful and well adjusted young man. She worked very hard at making sure he had a relationship with his father even though the father was a lousy husband and it involved big sacrifices on her part. It really paid off.

butterflywings · 25/04/2007 23:07

Lwatkins - Indeed And if you ever need anything too, just gimme a shout

Yes NA, I am studying. XP would arrange to have DD for the day so I'd think "great, I can finally get on with some coursework!" But then he just wouldn't show up... So not only would DD get really upset that he hadn't shown up again, but I would get annoyed too that I hadn't had the time to do my coursework

DD is two years old and she's already so dependant on him (she's only known him for 5 mths!) and asks for him every day, whether I've told her he's coming or not.
I have noticed though, that since he's introduced his DP to her, she has started to not want to go out with him, but wants him to play in our garden instead (where DD won't have to see XP's DP).
And it's not just the reins and slide that I'm worried about - he also doesn't hold her hand or encourage her to wait for the 'green man' when crossing roads and he dangles her feet over the bridge/water at the park, amongst other things.
He does have my number. When he whinged about me not phoning him for a couple of days, to give him a running commentary on our lives, I said, "Well, I thought if you were that bothered about seeing your DD, you'd ring me." He didn't have an answer for that!

I was worried about trying to tackle so many things with him at once and thought that I should probably just do one thing at a time. But maybe if I tell him everything in one go, he might realise how important it is and how much it's stressing me out...? I don't know..

I have always said since DD was born, that I would never stop XP from seeing her. And in fact, I had to pester him for ages after she was born to get him to just come and meet her.
He's manipulated and belittled me for 4 1/2 years now and I've never stood up to him before so I can't help thinking if he's just trying to see how far he can push me this time before I break..
I am going to try really hard to keep the two of them in touch but I think he should know what his boundaries are, otherwise he'll just walk all over me

OP posts:
butterflywings · 25/04/2007 23:18

The slide is kind of a safety issue with me - since XP might not tell me if DD had an accident on it (he didn't tell me about her falling out of her buggy for weeks afterwards). Then again it might just be my 'nursery nurse instinct' as we always encouraged the children in our care to use the ladder when I was working.

But it's also about DD's learning. If I'm telling her one thing and he's telling her another/not to do it, then she's going to end up really confused. He and I need to be on the same wavelength, IYSWIM.

OP posts:
Lwatkins · 26/04/2007 02:36

Well see I don't think it's up to YOU to keep their contact up. What woman should have to make the effort to make sure the father is in the picture? If he isn't going to make the effort than in my opinion the childs better of without him.

At the end of the day, if this man wants to be a father to his little girl he will make the effort himself, not have to be encouraged to do so. Does that make sense? Yes I think it is important for a child to have a relationship with his/her father, but it also depends on the father in question.

I think all issues need addressing, no matter how small/petty/serious they are. Lay all your cards on the table with him. And I think you've hit the nail on the head when you've said that he is trying to push you and see if you crack. But you won't, you'll be fine

If you ever need to chat give me a shout butterfly, or if in the next 4 weeks you need me to come and sit on someone for you, I'll see what I can do lol!

SofiaAmes · 26/04/2007 02:58

It sounds to me like you are being an absolutely fantastic mum and doing the best for your child. Although I don't know your ex, he is male and I am fairly sure that you will have more success if you pick one or two really important items to work on at a time. And please please please don't think that if your ex has different rules than yours, that your dd will get confused. I have seen it with my stepchildren who have one set of rules (strict) in my home and another set (nonexistent) in their mother's home. They are angels in my home and awful for their mother. In fact my stepson has been permanently excluded from school and sent to a school for children with behavior problems, but has always been polite and respectful to me and in my home. He knows (and has told us) exactly what he can get away with where. When it really counts, your dd will remember the right and wrong that you teach her.

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