Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Parents of adult children

Wondering how to stop worrying about your grown child? Speak to others in our Parents of Adult Children forum.

Adult Dd hates me and right now I don’t like her very much either. Very long, sorry.

220 replies

DDstress · 25/08/2023 17:18

She’s 22yo, just finished uni. Lives at home, lived at home all through uni. Still married to her dad. No other kids.

I really don’t know where it went wrong. We seemed to get on fine, days out, doing stuff, etc till she was about 16yo. Then she got more distant but thought well this happens, she’s out with friends, etc, it’s normal.

she’s always been well behaved and worked hard, done well at school, etc with no pressure from us.

I offered to pay for her to live in halls at uni but she declined, we let her do what she liked and never interfered with her life or gave her any house rules.

If I’m honest she’s been spoilt. Certainly financially. If she wants something she pretty much gets it. 2k laptop for uni (said she needed a high spec), expensive desktop, upgrading stuff on her desktop computer, driving lessons, 6k car. Pay all her insurance, tax, car bills. She has a part time job so didn’t need an allowance while at uni as she got wages plus her student loan.

we paid for her to go on a course to Italy which cost us 3k this summer, it was Paris with a friend the year before that. She said to me yesterday that she wants a new laptop for Xmas.

she had a boyfriend while at uni and they split up at Xmas. Her choice. From what I saw she was vile to him, but she said he was horrible to her beh8nd closed doors. She dumped him, I sympathised. Since then she seems in a foul mood constantly

If anything goes wrong she has a meltdown, rages, shouts at me and rages (dh keeps out the way).

she was dog sitting a few weeks ago and rang me at work saying she needed £80 now as she was booking her speed awareness course and had no money as she’d spent it all on food as was living at this house she was dog sitting at. At no point did she clearly say to me she needed money for food. I transferred the £80, told her I couldn’t buy food for two households but there was plenty of stuff here (5 miles away) she could come and get. She slammed the phone down on me. A few weeks before this I told her she needed to sign on for universal credit but she has refused.

so she went to Italy for three weeks. Came back and said she has sorted out an au pair job and as soon as she can is leaving. She’s having a nightmare sorting out the visa, I have been googling and trying to help and she had a meltdown today.

Said she is doing it “all on my own”. I pointed out I’ve been trying to help and have actually found out how to book the visa appt today and while she was on the phone to me with her encouragement booked the appointment. She is now raging at me for booking at . She then said she hasn’t booked the language course which she needs to do to get a certificate for her visa. I’d given her £500 towards an £800 course a few days ago and yesterday she told me she’d booked it. Turns out that was a lie. She doesn’t want that language school as she’s heard the govt have clocked that it gives out dodgy visa letter (she should be at the school for the whole year but £800 is about 4 weeks of lessons but they will do you a letter saying it’s a year). So she needs to pay 3k for a better language school.

I said I’m not paying 3k for a language school for her. She’s been shouting at me. Saying how much she hates me, that she’s leaving the country because she wants to get away from me. That I’m emotionally abusive. That I was emotionally abusive at Xmas. I asked her to give me one example and she can’t remember. She says we’re a dysfunctional fucked up family and she can’t wait to leave and she’s never coming back. I said fine, if that’s the way you feel then go. She’s screaming that she’s trying but can’t afford to.

She said her whole childhood has been emotionally abusive, that she’s always been unhappy. That I have never supported her. I pointed out all the stuff we’ve done, from paying for tutors, paying for counsellors, helping her write appeal letters when she was nearly kicked out of uni for failing a year, all the financial help. Or she can say is that I give her money so I can throw it back in her face. But I don’t throw it in her face, but I will defend myself trying to give examples of when I think we have supported her.

she was angry because I made a cake this afternoon as she wanted to make one, but she’d just got in after driving a 4 mile round trip to the embassy and not getting seen. So I thought I’d do something nice and that she wanted actual cake, not to be making the cake herself. She’d mentioned about cake yesterday so I was trying to do something nice for her.

my friends say she bullies me. She seems as nice as pie when she wants something, and angry and nasty when she doesn’t get her own way.

she works at the gym I go to and she told staff there that I’d kicked her out after Xmas (she went to live with friends for a few months ) and that her dad had hit her. Which is all lies. I confronted her about that for the first time today and asked her why she lied because it’s embarrassing as I know her colleagues and they asked me about it. She was backtracking and said that her dad did hit her (he smacked her when she was about 6yo and I said no more and he hasn’t). She reckons when she told work that she was referring to that. Which is bullshit. I told her I hadn’t kicked her out and she denied telling work that which I think is also bullshit.

She seems to like being the victim. There’s been minor examples of this with friends, etc where I think she’s said something about them which isn’t true. That they’ve done xyz to her. Im actually beginning to wonder if she has s9me sort of personality disorder. The friends she stayed with im sure she told them I kicked her out. She gets on very well with her (now ex) lecturers at uni and im sure she’s told them this. Her graduation is next week and she hasn’t invited us to it. She wants everyone to feel sorry for her and run round after her.

I to,d her im sad she feels this way but if it’s how she feels then she should go and pointed out I prefer it when she’s not here. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.

she’s stormed off now, im sure to go and tell someone how abusive I am to her and probably try and find somewhere else to move to. She has 24k in a bank account which I’d saved for her as a child for a house deposit. I told her if she needs money for expensive Italian language courses she will have to start using her money. Am I right?

OP posts:
Notimefor · 25/08/2023 17:24

She’s being a brat! Sorry, you need to let her fend for herself so she actually appreciates your help when you give it to her. She sounds very entitled, and you are doing her no favours by indulging her. It’s tough, my sympathies are with you.

akissbeforebed · 25/08/2023 17:25

She needs to move out.

bunchofboys · 25/08/2023 17:25

She sounds awful op. Poor you. Does she have adhd? Somethjng about your description of her sounds ND. But its no excuse for bad behaviour and her behaviour is shocking. Stop with the hand outs or she will never grow up.

squashi · 25/08/2023 17:26

I think it's unlikely that she hates you, but she's worked out how to manipulate you emotionally. I guess you need to hold your nerve with her and let her know you won't be giving her unlimited money or tolerating some of her behaviour. In answer to your final question - yes.

DDstress · 25/08/2023 17:29

bunchofboys · 25/08/2023 17:25

She sounds awful op. Poor you. Does she have adhd? Somethjng about your description of her sounds ND. But its no excuse for bad behaviour and her behaviour is shocking. Stop with the hand outs or she will never grow up.

I think she is ND, either adhd or possibly autism. Loads of stuff I look back on nkw such as she couldn’t enter a birthday party at the village hall as couldn’t cope with the noise, etc. she does get overwhelmed and has what seems like a “typical” adhd meltdown

OP posts:
Jewelanemone · 25/08/2023 17:30

Wow, what a spoiled little brat she is! I'm not surprised you're happiest when she's far, far away! Stop paying for everything, she's not grateful so why bother?

Wave her off to Italy, and close the door along with access to your money.

Littlemissprosecco · 25/08/2023 17:34

Don’t make excuses for her, she’s obviously very bright and very capable. Let her find her own way now. Even if it does turn out she’s ND it’s never been flagged up before by schools or uni, so don’t allow that guilt to eat into you.
She’s old enough to make her own decisions and live the consequences

Tiddlywinks63 · 25/08/2023 17:37

She’s a spoiled, overindulged brat.
I hope she does go to Italy, she’s going to have to grow up pdq.
Stop making excuses, stop trying to put unnecessary labels on her to excuse her appalling behaviour and stop giving her money Ffs.

Problesolving · 25/08/2023 17:39

MIL and BIL relationship is the same as yours and your DD.

She is brat. You haven’t helped by giving her too much but also you have being doing things which she asked you not eg booking the appointment and making a cake when she said she wanted to. You need to stop stepping on her toes and picking up the pieces and let her grow up.

ValBiro · 25/08/2023 17:40

ND?! Seriously? Based on... What? So offensive!

You've given her an absolute ton of money to get by, OP. She's played you!

DDstress · 25/08/2023 17:47

Problesolving · 25/08/2023 17:39

MIL and BIL relationship is the same as yours and your DD.

She is brat. You haven’t helped by giving her too much but also you have being doing things which she asked you not eg booking the appointment and making a cake when she said she wanted to. You need to stop stepping on her toes and picking up the pieces and let her grow up.

She asked me to make the appointment, she was on the phone to me as I was making it, giving me her passport number, etc. urging me to book it quickly before the slot went.

but yes, she needs to grow up!

OP posts:
GiveMyHeadPeaceffs · 25/08/2023 17:47

Start treating her like an adult. No more hand outs, no more sorting her life out for her and no more fixing things for her. She gets to stand on her own two feet and maybe she'll figure out how good she had it.

DDstress · 25/08/2023 17:50

I was diagnosed with adhd as an adult so if she does have it I do have some sympathy because I know how panicked you can feel when you get overwhelmed with stuff. But I’ve learnt to keep a lid on it. But I’ve never lied about stuff like she does, I never treated my parents like this.

dh has just come home and I’ve told him and he’s furious. I never told him about her lying to the gym about him hitting her and making out she was fleeing the house due to violence. But he’s really upset.

OP posts:
Almondmum · 25/08/2023 17:51

Blimey, she's been absolutely ruined. She's 22 and wants to live and work abroad. She should be making the arrangements and sorting out the visa herself. If she can't do that how will she manage out there without you?

DDstress · 25/08/2023 17:54

Almondmum · 25/08/2023 17:51

Blimey, she's been absolutely ruined. She's 22 and wants to live and work abroad. She should be making the arrangements and sorting out the visa herself. If she can't do that how will she manage out there without you?

Oh absolutely. And I’m torn whether to sit down with her tomorrow or not to go through a checklist of what she needs for her visa appointment or not. I know if i don’t there’s a 99% chance she won’t have everything and it’ll be a wasted and expensive trip to London. And then she might lose her au pair job and right now I just want to see the back of her.

OP posts:
OhcantthInkofaname · 25/08/2023 17:54

You have created a monster. Stop now.

BashCandicoot · 25/08/2023 17:57

If she can be nice when she wants something she’s not struggling with ADHD or ASD. She’s a spoilt bitch and I’d be telling her so and kicking her out.

LakeTiticaca · 25/08/2023 17:57

You have made a massive rod for your own back. Now you have to reverse it. Start by giving her a month's notice to vacate your house and find alternative accommodation. Cut off the hand outs and tell her to find a full time job.

Almondmum · 25/08/2023 18:01

But she won't last long in that au pair job if she can't do that kind of stuff herself. Her host family aren't going to baby her. She'll make it over there and be back making your life miserable before you know it.

I'd tell her that you're not helping her any further and she'd better make sure she's prepared for her visa appointment or she'll lose the job. And make sure its expensive for her not you - you expect to be paid back if she fucks it up.

You're doing her and yourself no favours.

toddlermom99 · 25/08/2023 18:01

I'd help her with getting the visa and the appointments etc just so you can see the back of her. Maybe with some space she'll realise just how she has been.

toddlermom99 · 25/08/2023 18:01

how awful she has been*

toddlermom99 · 25/08/2023 18:02

But Definitely do not give her anymore money, she can use her own!

OriginalUsername2 · 25/08/2023 18:02

God I would be livid at her attitude. She has everything 😫

Lindy2 · 25/08/2023 18:05

My DD15 has ADHD and ASD. Your daughter is displaying a lot of neuro diverse traits. Any demand that feels overwhelming (this can be even a very small demand) causes a drama.

My DD is also always the victim and seems to crave attention by telling dramatic stories. We are also terrible parents according to her. I hate to think what she actually says about us.

It is extremely difficult. I have no answers.

At 22 though I'd cut back on funding her. You need to break that habit.

Anothershitusername · 25/08/2023 18:07

I’m autistic,and I’ve adhd ..I’ve never behaved how you describe she does .
never in a million years have I behaved like that.
I bet you a pound to a penny ,she won’t behave like that in her au pair job ,or at uni ,or at the gym she works at .
she behaves like that at home because you both enable her .
cut the apron strings for crying out loud