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Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

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My sons girlfriend is a problem!!!!!

620 replies

worriedgran57 · 28/11/2015 22:46

This is my first time on mumsnet so I hope I am doing it properly!! Hope you don't mind a gran asking for advice!

My son is with a girlfriend who is 17. She fell pregnant right before she was 16!! They had only been together 6 months. My son was just finishing his A levels and it was a very worrying time. He is a very smart boy, his IQ is very high and we were hoping he would go to Oxford or Cambridge.

He didn't do well in his exams. Studying went to pot, because he was of course so worried about his girlfriend!

Now I know she is still young, but she is very manipulative. She told my son she had problems with her period, so he thought she couldn't get pregnant...clearly that wasn't the case!

Since the baby (a little boy) came along, my son has had to resit some exams. He has been so stressed at the behaviour of this girl. She seems to want him to get a job, but in the long run going to university would be a better option. I told him that he needn't think he will be playing happy families with his girldfriend and the baby because he has his education to think of....he is only a boy. They are both too young to set up home together!

I also have a 14 year old daughter and I don't think this girl is a good influence....she used to go out with her friends a lot before the baby was born,sometimes not coming home until 11pm at night....she invited my daughter out a few times but I didn't allow her...it's not so much the girl herself, it's her friends I am worried about!

This girl has been allowed to do whatever she wants...taking the train to the city for the day. staying out, going on holiday with people her parents barely know....

She isn't a bad mother but she is careless...last month she took the baby out a 2 mile walk in the pram with only a coat and a thin blanket on. She takes him miles away on the bus, he sleeps in her bed....I know they are just little things but he has no routine or stability in my opinion

She is rude about our house...we have 6 cats and 3 dogs and she told my son she didn't want to let the baby sleep in his cot in the living room because she felt he was unsafe near the animals! My animals would never hurt anyone, they are rescues and very gentle and timid....she thinks our house is dirty. OK it might smell a bit catty but it is not dirty! She also refused to sit in the living room with the baby when my husband was watching TV, she said the show was too violent...

I don't feel comfortable in my own home when she visits with the baby, I have got into the habit of taking my daughter out and going to do the weekly shop when she comes round on a Saturday.

I try to be involved with my grandson but she makes it awkward. First she doesn't let him sleep in our living room, but then she suggests going for a coffee with my son, and wants me to babysit??? I told my son that we aren't there to babysit just so they can have fun.That is not what being a parent is about!

I just don't know what to do...I wish my son wasn't in this position. He is still very immature for his age. I think it's all too much for him to cope with. When his girlfriend was pregnant, I asked the school to let all his teachers know the situation, so they would be aware of the stress he was under when he was doing his exams/...but they said they couldnt because the girl was at the same school and she was their priority....I feel like my son has been overlooked from day one, but he needed just as much help!

Where do we go next?

OP posts:
SmellyFartado · 29/11/2015 12:59

I haven't read the whole thread as I got too angry but I wonder whether at any point you've sat down with GF's family and GF/DS to work out how you are going to navigate this situation and relationships/money/support as like it or not you are now linked for life.

I strongly suspect that as your darling DS is so high on your pedestal, you haven't done anything of the sort and your indifference/refusal to take any responsibility for dealing with this is also a major part of the problem.

contrary13 · 29/11/2015 13:01

Where to start...?

Firstly, OP, yes; your DS is immature. But you know that. And you know that he's immature because you've encouraged him to be. However, he is also an adult. Legally capable of making his own choices/decisions without his Mummy there to hold his hand/tell him what to do. Do him the biggest favour you will ever do - and back off. Let him screw up his life, if that's what it takes for him to begin taking some personal responsibility for the choices which HE has already made. Because he really does need to start comprehending the small fact that the biggest consequence for having unprotected sex... is a baby being born some time later. That child? Isn't your responsibility. You have no rights over it.

Secondly... I'm going to tell you a little (completely true) story now. And I really hope that you take the message I'm trying to impart here and understand it's meant with all the kindness left within the depths of my heart.

I was just short of 20 when my DD (19) was born. Her biological father was just like your son - a Mummy's Boy. I was also using hormonal contraception and refused to have sex unless a barrier method was also used. But, y'know, life happens. I ended up pregnant just after we'd finished our 'A'-levels. We were both adults - which is a key difference to your scenario, I confess, but... my DD's biological father was, like your son, very immature. He'd never held down a job, his parents treated him like a little demi-God, and he was arrogant beyond belief because of it. In hindsight, I have no idea what I ever saw in him. My parents encouraged me to start working as soon as I was legally old enough to, whilst studying. I was encouraged to go to Oxbridge by my teachers - and I had the grades to do so. But my DD "happened".

For 7 years, I was told by my child's biological father's family that it was all my fault. That I had ruined his life by choosing to have my DD. For 7 years, my DD spent time with them - and it's only in the last year or so that she's admitted how they treated her, their own grandchild/niece as an object to boost their own status. "Oh, look at us, we're the only ones who have this child's best interests at heart... oh, but woe is us, because her evil mother won't let us have her overnight/babysit... our poor son's life has been ruined, destroyed forever... oh, no; he doesn't see her: we won't allow him to get attached, and we make sure that the child knows how much he blames her and her evil mother for preventing him from living the life that we, his parents, had planned for him... no; he doesn't pay a penny towards her, at all... well, we did pay a little, but that evil mother of hers had the audacity to point out that it ought to be grandchild's other biological parent paying it, not us... so we stopped... because how dare she..."

When my DD was 7 years old, she went to visit with them one Saturday - and told them that she never wanted to have anything more to do with them. She's 19 now. Last year, after two years of being stalked by her biologicla grandparents through college, she took out a restraining order on the entire family. Her biological father has never paid a penny towards her... actually, he went to university (albeit not Oxbridge, but he wasn't as smart as his parents liked to claim/think he was...). So did I. Not Oxbridge. And with a toddler in tow. But I went. I am as I always have been - a mother who is more than capable of independently supporting my own, equally independent children. My DD was 16 when she got her first job, whilst studying. She is also at university. She also has a very loving step-father, whom she has known her entire life (we've known one another since we were 12, so years before her biological father and I even knew one another existed), and his family who love her as much as they do her younger brother.

She hasn't seen her biological father, or his family since she was 7 years old. She doesn't want to, because of how they treated me and how they made her feel. Her biological father... well... he's 40 years old, has several other children, doesn't work (which according to the friends we have in common, he blames squarely on me...), and still lives at home. With his Mummy and Daddy. Who still treat him like he's 5 years old.

Your grandchild will always choose their mother over you. So, do the mature thing and don't ever make them feel like they have to. Be a grandmother. Enjoy not having the responsibility for them - but, for the love of whatever, stop preventing your son from being the man he thought he could be when he had unprotected sex (I'm not even going to touch the "no sex before marriage" statement you made, because... this is 2015, not 1915!). And above all, understand this. Your grandchild's mother is the one who is potentially going to have her life put on hold here. But that won't always be the case. I hope she does go to university, and I hope that she does understand that she is worth more than a relationship with someone who is actively encouraged to behave like an irresponsible child in seemingly most aspects of his life.

Let your son live his own life.

Because, after all, it's not your life... it's his. And he has responsibilities towards his child now.

Good luck, OP... I have a horrible feeling that you're going to need it in bucket-loads.

SmellyFartado · 29/11/2015 13:01

.....and perhaps reword your thread title as your DS is the problem here not the GF.

frillybiscuits · 29/11/2015 13:01

I went straight from secondary education (sixth form) into full time at McDonald's on a shoddy £4.35 an hour. Whilst my friends all went off to uni (funded by their parents) I worked hard and now have my own place, run my own successful business and earn a fair whack. Please bear in mind that qualifications and degrees aren't everything unless you are adamant on careers such as teaching/medicine/law. Most of my friends that chose to do degrees (especially things like art and dramaHmm) are now struggling on minimum wage and still living with their parents. Please please encourage your son to get a job now, if he really wants to do a degree he can do an online course whilst caring for his child or wait until later in life

Mrsrochesterscat · 29/11/2015 13:06

Obsidian, I too have sat in on strategy meetings for CSE, involving local authority social workers and the county's CSE police units (including their own directly employed social worker and police officers).

I have been in meetings where scenarios are discussed, often scenarios just like the OPs. A young person can be considered to be exploited up to the age of 18. Power disparity is taken very seriously.

Perhaps this county has a more cautious approach to CSE than yours.

ilovesooty · 29/11/2015 13:06

What does he spend his jsa on? Why isn't he supporting his child on any way?

I would imagine that before too long the job centre will up the ante and he'll find himself on an unpaid work placement if he doesn't get a job through his own efforts.

Moohoomeltdown · 29/11/2015 13:14

Why was I deleted? MNHQ? I honestly don't understand why my post was removed. Several poster subsequently have posted similar things.

I wasn't questioning whether she was a genuine poster, that's not my place and I've no interest in hunting/attacking the OP. I was questioning her views and lack of empathy/compassion. I was referring to seven pages of advice that she was ignoring....

I've never been deleted before Sad

CremeBrulee · 29/11/2015 13:18

OP you seem stuck in a loop, only considering what should have, could have or would have happened if things were different. They aren't -this is life and you need to get on with it.

It's not clear from your posts whether you actually want a relationship with your grandson but he should be the focus of your attention, not your DS. Whatever your life plans for your DS were, that's gone - he needs a path that will lead him to be able to support his son. Being unemployed for 17 months is not acceptable. Why did his job only last for a month?

Your attitude is helping no-one. You need to work on trying to develop a better relationship with the girlfriend and her family. It's highly unlikely the relationship will last and if it doesn't you will lose contact with your grandson. Perhaps ask to meet with them and apologise for your behaviour to date?

Ememem84 · 29/11/2015 13:27

I imagine what will happen in the future (be it a few months or a few years) is that the op will be back here moaning because circunstabces have changed. The gf will have grown up realised she can't rely on the ops son for anything and has stopped contact. moved away to uni and take. Baby with her. With the help and support from her family.

Op will be back here. Claiming her son did nothing wrong. Son will still be home. Not working. Not studying. Just being. Everything will still be unfair.

Alisvolatpropiis · 29/11/2015 13:29

Off topic but - I assume none of the posters who are raising the op's sons age versus his girlfriends had sex before they were 16, then?

SoupDragon · 29/11/2015 13:33

How is that relevant?

An attitude of "I did it so it must be OK" doesn't change the legalities at all does it?

Sairelou · 29/11/2015 13:36

Hmmm I think the OP has done a runner....

Alisvolatpropiis · 29/11/2015 13:37

My point is that there is a reason the police don't waste their time prosecuting teenagers in normal teenage relationships, if they do then there's almost certainly more to it than "had sex at 15".

And no, I didn't actually.

CallingAllEmergencyKittens · 29/11/2015 13:38

This is showing all the signs of becoming a fucking tragedy when it could so easily be a lovely thing- a happy , healthy child with two loving and supportive families.

Aeroflotgirl · 29/11/2015 13:40

Yabvvvu, he should not have lay down in bed with her, if he did not want a baby, and has to take responsibility to help provide for HIS child. Where do you think the money will come from? The education and Uni can wait, he needs to get a job to provide for his child. Education does not stop at 18, he can pick that up later on.

coconutpie · 29/11/2015 13:47

Wow OP, you sound pretty horrible. It's no surprise that your son's girlfriend wants nothing to do with you and doesn't allow you babysit. I wouldn't allow my precious child be exposed to your toxicity either. I would want nothing to do with you. You bitch and moan about the child's mother and then expected her to hand over her 4 week old newborn to you to babysit? I wouldn't have been separated from my newborn baby either. So it's no wonder she didn't allow it, but I'd say that's more to do with your crappy attitude than a new mother not wanting to be away from her tiny baby.

You keep whinging about your poor son in all this. Your son is a bloody idiot - he was the one who impregnated a minor, she was the vulnerable person in all this. She is the victim, not your son. Your son was not a child, he was an adult. This whole bullshit about how he believed she wouldn't get pregnant - he's not as intelligent as you make him out to be. This whole situation is all as a result of your son having unprotected sex with a 15 year old. I suggest you stop blaming that poor girl and start looking at your son.

Oh and I wouldn't be bringing my baby anywhere near your house either. It probably is filthy since you have so many animals running around. And no animal is trustworthy around a child. End of.

Your son needs to step up and get his life together. He's not the victim here - it's his girlfriend's life that has been turned upside down. Not his. She has a baby to look after now. Your son's excuses of sitting on his arse for the last year are completely unacceptable - he has barely any responsibility for this baby, yet he's the one doing nothing with his life. Either go to college and get a part time job or else get a full time job. But stop with this ridiculous poor DS crap. He made his bed (as did you, as you didn't teach him about safe sex), now he can deal with the consequences.

Needaninsight · 29/11/2015 13:50

He's not that bright is he, if he got a 15 yr old pregnant?

Hardly Oxbridge material!

contrary13 · 29/11/2015 13:50

Ememem84 - if I were a betting woman, I'd put money on it. Because the underlying theme to the OP's posts are that none of this is her son's fault, but it's all the GF/mother of her grandchild's doing.

Horrendously similar to my own situation 19 years ago.

Even though I've not spoken to my DD's biological father since she was a few weeks old, the way his life turned out... all my doing, don't'cha'know? Hmm There are 3 things I hope for in this scenario - that the OP's son starts to assume personal responsibility for his own choices/the OP backs off and allows him to, that the GF realises that she's worth more/better than a Mummy's Boy, and - above all - that the OP understands that she stands on the border of losing her grandchild permanently.

My DD went through hell because of how her biological paternal family made her feel. Neither she or I would wish that on anyone... but it happens. As her mother, I have always backed her choices - even though she was a child, it was her choice, and I always told her (still do, actually) that if she ever wants to resume contact, then I will support that choice. But knowing what I know now, I understand why that choice was made, and I know that my DD did it to protect herself. Finding out that a girl she thought was her best friend in college was reporting everything she said/did, every single grade she achieved (or didn't), back to people that she had decided were toxic to her... it almost finished her. She cried for days over it and it did a number on her self-esteem/confidence that, frankly, I'm not sure she'll ever really recover from. I don't think that I'll ever know what the straw which broke her 7 year old back actually was - but I suspect that it had a lot to do with her biological grandmother's refusal to accept that we didn't actually need them in our lives. I wanted them to be my DD's grandparents, aunt and uncle... even, actually, her father... but they wouldn't let go of how we'd ruined all of their social status/her biological father's life. When, actually, we hadn't.

So, if the OP reads this - please, for the sake of your grandchild, learn from mistakes others have made. Let your DS be a responsible, mature father. Whether he and GF remain together, or not (actually, I suspect they won't - and, I'll be honest, I hope they don't!). Your "job"... is to be the best grandmother that you can be to that child. Don't blame them, don't hold them or their mother responsible for the choices which your son has/hasn't made. Don't fall into the blame game. Because your grandson's mother is doing exactly what she ought to...

... and in a couple of years time, your own DD may well find herself in exactly the same situation. My DD's paternal aunt did. Educate your children to become decent adults before it's too late. Not only for them - but also for the innocents who will be born through your ignorance/belief that your teenagers are immune to hormones and lust...

SarahSavesTheDay · 29/11/2015 13:50

Question: have you and your husband sat down with your son, this girl and the girl's parents to discuss a plan? Doesn't this seem logical?

coffeeisnectar · 29/11/2015 13:51

Why can't he get a job? My 17 year old is at school Monday to Friday studying A levels but still does four shifts a week (two evenings, two weekend shifts) at McDonald's and earns £7.00 odd an hour. In the holidays she does 35 hours a week. Do the maths. Or get Oxbridge boy to do it.

What does he do all day? If he's so bright then why isn't he doing an OU course? Or college? Or an apprenticeship? Anything?

SarahSavesTheDay · 29/11/2015 13:53

He should have a job if only on principle. He needs to start thinking about money and 'contributing' to this child's upbringing.

Aeroflotgirl · 29/11/2015 13:59

I totally agree with the lot of you. Its people like the op, who create these man children who are totally unable to function as a responsible adult without help from their parents; eventually the burden falls to their partners, as I have seen on threads on here, time and time again. Worriedgran do your son a favour and help him with his responsbilities, help him be the dad that his ds deserves, instead of blaming the girl, and making your ds out to be a victim who was done over by her. It takes two to tango I am afraid, your ds is just as responsible as this girl. If he had any ounce of common sense, he would realise that accidents happen. Just because a girl says she cannot fall pregnant because of medical reasons, does not mean it cannot happen. It might have been just a surprise and shock to her as your ds.

So re think your whole attitude if you want to help your ds grow up into a man and a good father.

Hissy · 29/11/2015 14:02

Call yourself a grandmother? You are anything but. Piss poor person as far as things go. The son isn't much of a man either.

I hope the mother changes her number, moves and leave the lot of you behind.

VestalVirgin · 29/11/2015 14:10

Now I know she is still young, but she is very manipulative. She told my son she had problems with her period, so he thought she couldn't get pregnant...clearly that wasn't the case!

She is not manipulative. She told him she had problems with her period. No one in his right mind would take that to mean that sex without condom is okay. In fact, no sensible person would even assume that doctors saying she is infertile means she cannot get pregnant. As long as all the equipment is there, there's a risk.

Your son may be a bit naive. That doesn't mean he was being manipulated. He was old enough to put his penis into a woman's vagina, so he is old enough to take responsibility for the child.

Let this be a warning to other mothers of sons who do not think they have to educate their sons about contraception.

SarahSavesTheDay · 29/11/2015 14:11

Let this be a warning to other mothers of sons who do not think they have to educate their sons about contraception.

Yep. This thread has sent a shiver down my spine.

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