My son is just 2 and I’m starting to worry that me and his father are worlds apart when parenting. My son has only just started sleeping over at his fathers house (January this year) and only stopped over night once before Christmas. He went from every day with me to one week spending 3 night away from me and I’ve started to realise some things.
We went through the family courts and with our very strained relationship have contact through a family member. I was told in court that I had no say on how my baby’s dad parents my son when he has him so I’m unsure on what I can bring up to him or not. I recently sent him one text (about my son) whilst my son was with him and he rang the police to say I had harassed him.
That being said I’m starting to worry about some behaviours my son is displaying. Both his father and I own dogs (I own toy dogs and his father large dogs), my son has now started to come home at weekends and kick and smack my dogs who are now 10 years old. I have never smacked my dogs and have seen his father smack his dogs as they are big and sometimes cannot be controlled and I am wondering whether my son is now copying what he has seen. He also comes home and smacks me aggressively to the point that it makes me cry, he’s never done this before but I’m wondering with the change of now having to stop at his fathers he’s just confused or angry?
My son has been walking since one but on returning from his fathers he used to crawl (in the last month or so has only just stopped this) he would only crawl for the evening he’d return but I found it quite strange.
His speech has also stopped. He would say words and now he hardly talks something I’ve very worried about. He has also become extremely shy to the point where sometimes I feel embarrassed.
He also comes back from his fathers and sleep around 15 hours and then naps frequently through the day which makes me so worried that he is not sleeping at his dads house.
Along with that he always comes home with diarrhoea. I have mentioned this to his father but he just ignores it.
By no means am I just out to attack my baby’s father and completely agree that my son should see his dad which is not the problem here (I know sometimes it sounds like mums just attack the father of their child) but I just don’t want these problems to escalate.
I’m just asking if anyone knows what I can do from here? If you try to coparent and speak to your baby’s father and they don’t have any of it what else can I do or try? With his speaking and confidence affected is it something to go to the doctor about (by no means am I saying seeing his father has stopped his speech but I’m thinking with all the big changes.. I just don’t know!).
I’m just wondering if anyone can help or has been through anything similar?