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Lone parents

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

How do people with children split up?

29 replies

bignose · 10/04/2008 17:48

Can someone tell me how am I going to leave my husband?
We have 2 children together.Im not prepared to go in to a hostel as my ds starts school in Sept and I just couldnt handle the guilt if it affects him too much.I need it to run as smooth as poss.
There is somewhere(friends house) that I could stay but I dont have any money.
Im a childminder so dont earn enough to ever save.
What could I claim for if I moved in with a friend?
How long would the money take to start?
I would have to give up work if moved too so I wouldnt earnh anything then.
How can it affect the children?
How hard is it?
Can ayone tell me their stories and give me advice please?

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OverMyDeadBody · 10/04/2008 17:53

Do you have to leave? If it's possible I'd stay in the house with the children and get him to move out.

I left my ex when DS was 18 months old, I went back to my parents, left everything pretty much, benefits where actually quite quickly sorted out, a couple of weeks maybe?

In the long run the important thing for children is that their parents are happy and secure and they grow up in a secure stress-free environamnt, every situation is different though there is not one right way to do things. For me it was easier than staying in a bad relationship, the hardest part was deciding to leave, after that life got much better.

How old are your children?

SmugColditz · 10/04/2008 17:54

Make him leave. most cases, the resident parent keeps the house.

bignose · 10/04/2008 17:55

My ds is just and dd just 1.
Im unhappy.He doesnt know I want to leave and Im not 100% sure i do.I dont think i love him anymore.
He wouldnt leave.He has no where to go.

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bignose · 10/04/2008 17:56

He is an ok husband.Im just unhappy.He has no where to go.

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bignose · 10/04/2008 17:56

sorry ds is 4

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SmugColditz · 10/04/2008 17:58

Go to relate. This might be fixable. Please think long and hard about whether you want to do this because being a single parent is not a walk in the park before you add in the financial implications.

OverMyDeadBody · 10/04/2008 18:01

If it comes to you splitting up he will have to find somewhere to go.

I think coucelling would be the best option, for you alone and for you both. Have you talked to him about how you feel?

bignose · 10/04/2008 18:02

Iv called realte in jan and it costs too much money.we struggle and dont have any spare money.

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bignose · 10/04/2008 18:04

He knows things are not right.I avoid all sexual contact and anything that could lead to it.
We hardly talk.Its so sad as still care for him but dont fancy him at all.I feel hurt for him.

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Anna8888 · 10/04/2008 18:04

If you are very short of money, maybe that is a significant part of your problems?

Which won't be resolved by splitting up...

mrsruffallo · 10/04/2008 18:21

Please talk to him. You need an honest exchange of views. You both deserve that.

bignose · 10/04/2008 20:01

Ok well Iv spoke to him...
Iv come to the decision tht I dont want to be with him.
Its very sad.He has gone out in the car and is in tears.
Its been over for ages.He's not dim.He admitted that he knows.We've spoke loads of times and we just go round in circles.He thinks that if he changes, things would get better.Iv said to him that its not him its the fact that I just dont feel the same anymore.
I am scared that I am not 100% but am fed up of being unhappy and just do not see another way.
I also said that there is nothing that can be done as neither of us have anywhere to go.
My ds had his 4th birthday lately and he got a new bedroom with a new high sleeper bed.He absolutely loves it and I cannot take him away from that by taking him to stay at my friends!

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SmugColditz · 10/04/2008 20:16

So in 1 hour and 40 minutes you've decided that that is that?

YOu need to go to relate! Is a marriage not worth 40 quid? Just one session would help!

bignose · 10/04/2008 22:49

You are right!
Like I said I need advice.
I just dont know what I want I guess.
I feel so confused but also tired&fed up.
Need some new energy& to see a light at the end of the tunnel.
Thank you.

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ChasingSquirrels · 10/04/2008 22:56

splitting up is going to cost the two of you a whole lot more than the £40 for a relate session.
My dh has pretty much just done what you are doing, we don't have the financial worries, but the pain to everyone involved is immense.

CarGirl · 10/04/2008 22:56

How long have you been married? Time and young children do change your feelings for one another and passion can go out the window, but it often comes back but you have to work at it, you have to be open and honest and kind to one another.

honestly not trying to work it through is something you will always regret. Splitting up is very very very emotionally hard one everyone, including your children - I say that as someone who is on very amicable terms with my exdh (and he still is "dear" to me) it still hurt like hell, and my dd1 is still sad that we are not together - she was just 3 and is now 11.

AMAZINWOMAN · 10/04/2008 23:01

how would you feel if your husband met somebody else? that is likely to happen if you split up.

dolallylass · 10/04/2008 23:35

I sounded just like you when my two were the similar ages as your dcs. I did leave and it's so hard being on my own. The impact on the kids is immense and although I didn't think I would feel guilty, because I thought it was best at the time, I am so sorry that I didn't stick it out even if just for their sakes. I know everyones situation is different but I really agree with the previous posts, having no money is stressful and so is raising young kids, almost like you are not yourselves at the moment because of all you have to deal with.

It does get easier as they get older and when it does - do you really want to to be a single parent, missing them when they stay with their dad (nothing prepares you for that) or dealing with the daily grind on your own?

You have my best best wishes and I hope you can find happiness whatever you choose - just please don't be rash. Any help you can get to talk it through has to be worth a try.

lostdad · 11/04/2008 08:43

Whatever you do...don't just leave with the kids out of the blue.

My ex did that to me and I can honestly say it has been the worst experience of my life - surpassing the death of close family members.

It left me feeling like my wife and son had been murdered...and I had been blamed for it. Still feels like that and I'm in counselling for it, a year down the line.

bignose · 11/04/2008 08:45

Thank you so much.
All this is such good advice.You have all made me look at it diff.
Im going to make arrangements for some help.

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Sixer · 11/04/2008 08:51

Relate, £40. From what I remember this is a recommended donation. You really need to speak to Relate again, mention your financial situation. I can't see them telling you to bog orf. Like the others said, it's worth it, much better trying than jumping into being a sinle parent. Have you spoken to your GP about how you feel? They may be able to help.

mrsruffallo · 11/04/2008 09:51

I think that the advice to keep being kind and patient with each other is important.
When you have no money and the children are young it is very stressful and the grass always seems greener.
Whatever you decide, good luck

Bluebutterfly · 11/04/2008 10:00

Is it definitely your husband that you are unhappy with? Or is he part of a bigger dissatisfaction with life in general? Because if you are in a rut it is sometimes hard to pinpoint exactly what the problem is, and often we feel we need someone to blame.

If you are really unhappy with life in general, leaving your dh may seem like a quick fix, but it could cause you much greater problems in the future. I would definitely make a go of working on the relationship, for a little while anyway - then you can honestly say you tried everything. Furthermore, if there are other areas of your life that you feel that you are stuck with, it may be a good idea to try to explore them, too.
If you are unfulfilled (something that it is often hard to admit when we have children because it feels like we are saying "they are not enough") then maybe you need to look to changes you can make: can you find an evening course, can you find a part-time job to make a little bit of money and give you an opportunity to feel like you are doing something for you?

I don't know if I am way off of the mark, but I would seriously think about all of these things before you walk away from a marriage with two small children.

So sorry to hear you are having a tough time.

gillybean2 · 11/04/2008 10:07

Sorry i don't think you have got your priorities right here at all. You don't want to take your son away from his high sleeper bed because he loves it so much. But you don't think too much about taking him away from his dad who i'm sure he loves a whole heap more than his high sleeper bed... If you can't bear to part him from his bed you're going to find it a whole lot harder to handle when you see what separating the children from their dad actually envolves emotionally for them.

Are you sure you're not suffering from depression, post natal or otherwise? Speak to your doctor and see what they can think. They may also be able to refer you to a councellor.

You need to think of what is best for your children. Having a happy mother is important, but taking this step isn't going to resolve things magically or overnight (or any time soon). You will not become a happy mother just by leaving your husband an dthings could get a lot worse for you all before they get any better.

Talking to each other when you are hurt upset and angry will not get you anywhere. You need to speak to each other with a councellor who can help you both talk but more importantly listen to each other.

BTW I know far more people who walked away from their ex for no reason other than they weren't 'in love' any more and regret it completely when they realise the implications of being a single parent and see teh effect it has on their children. If your husband was violent, abusive etc that would be different and leaving in those circumstances is quite different.

Mariage is something you both have to work at to make successful. Remember marriage is very much a bed of roses (a bed of roses is full of thornes and manure when you get up close, it takes a lot of hard graft, time and effort to keep it together, and from a distance it looks and smells lovely...) Is your idea of what marriage is and should be realistic? We grow up ina world full of fairytales and magazines talk about the 'new men' etc but reality is not like that. Are your expectations of how things should be too high maybe? What are you hoping to find that your husband can't or isn't giving you?

I'm not trying to make you feel bad. Deciding to walk away is a tough thing to do, and if it's the right thing for you then i do think you should do it. I'm just trying to help you see that sometimes our judgement can be clouded when we are in the middle of the situation. Try and step outside from it and see it for what is actually is.

I agree entirely with those who say the cost of relate is nothing compared to the emotional and financial cost of seperation and/or divorce. Do it and do it right now. Phone the relate people and make that appointment and then ask your ex to come with you.

Best wishes
Gilly

Bluebutterfly · 11/04/2008 10:09

Also, (sorry to harp on) but sometimes in a long-term relationship it is possible to go through phases where your partner is not as attractive. Apart from anything else you have two small children. When ds was 1, I found it hard to find dh attractive - firstly, I think that my hormones were still focussed on more maternal matters and my dh's "needs"(tbh) were a bit of an inconvenience; it just felt that someone else wanted a bit of me iykwim.
Secondly, I felt a bit fat, frumpy and mummyish (I don't actually think that I was, but I felt that way) and so it was easier to imagine sex would be easier with someone who had no preconceived idea of who I was or what I looked like before children.

Again, this may have nothing to do with your situation, or there may be other things that are making you feel this way, but is it worth considering in more depth, through counselling, before you walk away?