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Parenting

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DP wants dd to move out - so upset

157 replies

nightmarebeforebedtime · 23/03/2012 11:39

Been living with DP for 4 years, we moved in together when dd was 9. Back then everything was fine, we all got on and I thought everything was fine. In the last couple of years (since hormones have kicked in) dd and dp haven't got on quite so well, but I've put that down to teenage angst and the fact that dd's been having sporadic contact with her biological father which has been a little bit of a rollercoaster but seems to be settling down into a good arrangement. Dp and dd row a bit, but then I do with her occasionally, and I thought everything was still good, especially as dp was keen (like me) to have a baby together.

Fast forward to now, I'm 4 months pregnant and last night dp was talking about how much he's looking forward to the baby coming and us being a family, but then he sprang the idea on me that dd should go and live with her biological dad because she 'keeps asking to' (she only does as a shock tactic in a row) and then 'they'd be a family and we can be a proper family' (meaning just the two of us and the baby). I was too shocked to even reply, it's not as if dd's dad and dd get on so wonderfully that I'd seriously consider it. Then dp got angry that I wouldn't even think about it and kept asking why I wouldn't because it 'made sense all round'. We ended up arguing about it half the night and this morning but he's gone off to work which kind of ended it (I don't work today).

Don't know what to do, the stuff he was saying really shocked me, he seemed so adamant it would be the best thing all round, I just feel devastated that he doesn't seem to see dd as part of our family and could just 'give her up' like that, I thought he thought we were a family already Sad.

OP posts:
HereIGo · 24/03/2012 10:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

QuintessentialShadows · 24/03/2012 10:56

I agree. You need an honest and open chat with your daughter, just the two of you to find out just exactly how she feels that your dp is treating her.

How does she see her place in the family. Secure? Loved, Together?

Have an open mind, and not just listen to her words. Most likely she is worried, want you to be happy, and will try tell you what she thinks you want to hear.

QuintessentialShadows · 24/03/2012 10:59

Very good point about sending off the first baby "to make it easier" if you and him ever were to have nr 2.

Ask him, will he want to send this baby away, a few years down the line, to make it easier if you are expecting a second baby with him.

And if he tries to bullshit you saying "this baby already live with both her/his parents", then ask him how he feels your daughter is different.
And how he sees himself in relation to her, and how good a dad her biological father is to her. Herein lies the crux of the matter. If you can make him understand this, well, first of all, he should be very ashamed, but secondly, you may have a chance, at least a small one.

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nightmarebeforebedtime · 25/03/2012 08:45

I definitely do need to have a good chat to dd but probably won't get a chance until Monday afternoon without dp overhearing. Still really don't know whether this should be the end or not, I don't want him treating her badly but is it 100% certain that he will now? I still feel so thrown by the whole thing and how to act now. Like yesterday was odd, dp was being nice enough but he spent most of the day working on his laptop and didn't do any of the housework until I asked him to do the dishes (normally we do 50/50 at the weekend). Nothing was said, and we all went out together for lunch which went fine, but it just felt like a weird atmosphere, but maybe it's me expecting it. Feel like I need to talk to dp again, what QS said about finding out his attitude about our family makes total sense, but I don't want to rake it all up again and make it worse.

OP posts:
exoticfruits · 25/03/2012 09:18

I would keep a close eye and pull him up immediately if you don't like something-however trivial.

TheQuietCricket · 24/07/2013 15:12

I've thought about this thread a little since I posted on it over a year ago and wondered how it went once the new baby arrived.

Hoping your dp found that his ability to care for/about both children was there after all, and it was just that he didn't realise it could work out well.

Are you around OP for a possible update ?

Hope all went well in the end.

MrsMongoose · 27/07/2013 17:35

Please do keep us updated OP, we're hear to support you! Thanks

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