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Dp and Ds 8th birthday yesterday.

941 replies

Fedupofitnow123 · 28/10/2019 12:30

It was ds's birthday yesterday, on Friday I went and got his gifts while doing the weekly shop, Saturday went into town to get his cake twice! as Ds was with me and decided on one that needed to be made so we collected later in the evening.

DP had promised DS to go to softplay on Sunday (his birthday), Sunday comes around and I'm finding DS something to wear and say about "when we come back...." and DP shouts through, "We're not going" I ignored it...

Next I'm in the kitchen and DP comes in "We don't really have to go do we?" I said yes as DS has been looking forward to it and he promised DS.

The DP comes up with a genius plan wherby we invite some of DS friends (a family 5 minutes walk away) and then DP can stay at home, so I agree, I know if he comes now he'll be extremely moody and ruin it. This has happened before with a planned bike ride, DP promised it, didn't want to go on the actual day (as always) and then had a MASSIVE tantrum, he refused to talk to me for the entire bike ride.

So I agreed, I phoned my friend and she said they'd love to go. The plan was to go to her house, then to lidl and catch the bus together.
When I got to her house she wasn't ready, ended up making all the kids lunch and we left after 2 hours. Got to softplay, left softplay and then my oyster wasn't working so we all walked home.

It took a bit longer than expected and we reached home at 5pm. I asked DP if he had started the roast dinner (DS requested birthday meal) and he said no, later adding "Why should I slave around in the kitchen while you and DS have a day out" (I'd already prepared it all in the morning, he just needed to turn it on) Before we left for softplay, he had told DS that he wasn't going as he was going to the shop to buy DS his gifts (Lie as I'd already got and wrapped them). When we came back DP had got the gifts and the cake and set them up nicely. It was lovely. DS was excited as only asked for 1 toy but got 3. All the way through DS was saying "Thanks dad, thanks dad for the gifts" DP said nothing.

I was cooking the meal and asked DP to make fresh gravy (I am rubbish at it) He did and said you can make gravy from water or milk, I made a comment that from milk sounds disgusting, he gave me an absolutely filthy look and started having a go saying I never try new foods, (not true). The led on to I always finish what he is saying and I'm obviously not interested onto how I am not "here" in my head, and always floating away somewhere. (Because he'd made me cry and I wasn't completely over everything instantly) At one point he even said "That's what happened, accept it", he told me how I behave and then when I disagreed he later said that "we had agreed that I was behaving in such a way" I asked him to stop numerous times as it was DS's birthday.

He wouldn't. He then had a go at me for taking DS out with another family on his birthday, and when I said "Maybe you should have come then!" He flew off the handle saying I had said he was a bad dad! He would not stop shouting, I tried to DS's cake, asked him if he wanted to sing "happy birthday" with us, he accused me of asking him if he wants to have cake with us, thus calling him a bad dad again. No amount of "I never said that" mattered. I relented, cut DS his cake, apologised to him and we tried to play xbox while DP was still going on.

He eventually stopped, and then never spoke to me at all for the rest of the evening (so from 8pm onwards) Went to bed alone (unusual for us) Refused to touch me in the night.

Then today, he sends me a message saying "we had to buy ds presents on credit" as if that's an excuse.

I am utterly fed up of this now. I did so much yet it still wasn't enough. He tried to hug me this morning (after he came back from work because it was cold) and I'm just sick of it. AIBU in any of this?

OP posts:
Mrsmummy90 · 17/11/2019 00:56

I've just RTFT. You are so brave and strong.

Well done for leaving that monster. I'm so
Happy for you and DS.

Keep moving forward. You can do it x

Fedupofitnow123 · 17/11/2019 12:06

So I've had the police statement through and it says I am willing to attend court :( I don't know what to do! Thank you for all your words

OP posts:
ToxicCat · 17/11/2019 12:43

@fedupofitnow123 have you considered asking if you can go through video link, so you don't have to sit face to face with him? Xx

stophuggingme · 17/11/2019 13:16

If the police send the evidence for a deicision to charge to the CPS -and he is as he should be - then as the victim and witness you will be afforded a lot of protection from having to face him. You could request video link though if the thought of being so near to him is as terrifying as I know it feels.

While this is going on he would be highly unlikely to be awarded direct contact with your son if he files papers directly with the court in a fit of pique. My ex only got FaceTime and a contact centre during this time. The former was stopped pretty quickly though.

BlouseAndSkirt · 17/11/2019 14:54

That must feel quite confronting OP.
Can you get advice from the charity that is supporting you? Have you got a police liaison person supporting you?

Are they asking wrt a prosecution, or a restraining order or other kind of order to keep him away from you?

The thing is, he has done this to himself. It isn’t you prosecuting him it is the crown prosecution service on the evidence presented by the police. The police wouldn’t be taking it forward, and neither would the CPS unless they believe they have a winnable case.

It’s as tough as anything but if they get a case against him, or even an order to stop him coming near you or contacting you, you will be in a much stronger position to protect Ds. And yourself of course.

stophuggingme · 17/11/2019 15:08

@BlouseandSkirt

This has not gone to the CPS yet, unless I am very much mistaken. The OP going to the police is just the start, he will need to be interviewed and a decision to charge will be made by the CPS after reviewing the police evidence and recommendation. This will take a little while.

Applying for a retraining or non mol order ,ight be something they recommend but he is quite far away as I understand and unless he starts turning up,thst wont happen. Also unfortunately restraining orders don’t necessarily lead to convictions for other things. As in my case.

The CPS are under the Kosh and heavy criticism for not taking enough cases like this to court. I hope and pray this changes. Not enough resources and time.

BlouseAndSkirt · 17/11/2019 15:47

Yes, sorry, I was being garbled.
And meant to be theoretical... as in if they do take it to CPS...etc.

BreakWindandFire · 17/11/2019 16:55

You can ask for special measures. Here are the protections you could be entitled to.

You can also ask the police to put you in touch with the witness care unit in your area and they can offer additional support.

Flowers to you and your son, although being 8 I'm sure he'd prefer Cake!

Fedupofitnow123 · 17/11/2019 20:17

Thank you for your advice, I will he asking for help in court, this is such a long road, but on a positive note, we found out baby is a boy today. I was a bit sad at first as would have lived a girl, but now I'll have two wonderful sons :)

OP posts:
Starlight456 · 17/11/2019 21:18

Congratulations on baby boy . They will grow up great mates

Disfordarkchocolate · 17/11/2019 21:35

It may be hard to take him to court but it may also be evidence you need later on. Something to think about but it's still very much your decision to make, sometimes it's hard enough to cope with the present.

Lentilbug · 17/11/2019 21:47

Congratulations on your baby boy. You are doing so well OP. Stay strong

stophuggingme · 17/11/2019 21:52

That’s lovely news about the baby. Congratulations.

showmethegin · 17/11/2019 22:49

Well I think you've proven a million times over how fantastic you are at raising sons! Your little one sounds wonderful, they are going to be best buddies! I think you're so impressive OP. You have your whole life ahead of you and have been so strong and brave. Get all the support you need for court, he deserves everything he has coming to him.

prawnsword · 18/11/2019 00:12

I stressed myself out silly in the lead up & on the day of my court proceeding & mine didn’t even bother to turn up! So was automatically granted restraining order. everything will be ok & work out as it’s meant to. Attending Court is like working on a big school project - preparing all your docs & evidence into one folder. Printing all the text messages / emails & having it all there on paper for judge to see.

You just need to prepare this bundle of docs so if someone who didn’t know you at all could read them & understand your side of the situation.

If there were no kids involved you could honestly likely represent yourself because it’s in the bag. You have a lots of evidence. The main thing I see as needing a good legal representative / team here is your son. He has said he doesn’t want to go back to his father. I would argue this is a situation where this man cannot have any unsupervised (if any) visitation because he has very high risk of not returning him. Your son is scared of him & feels uncomfortable with him.

I believe what you need to do is get him to a child psychologist ASAP. You need to show proof your son is seeing a professional & you are in charge of his medical treatment. Register him at a school & send him to school. I know you homeschool but I would argue now your son will benefit from being around kids of his own age & give him his own safe place to be away from all the adults & adult things. I am sure you are a great teacher but you also need a break & to focus on yourself & wellbeing too. If he is enrolled at a school it will be better for you legally. Please consider this, it could be part of your new start & if your son decides he doesn’t like the school you can always homeschool later on.

prawnsword · 18/11/2019 00:19

So if the above happened your child psych could submit some case notes & you have his enrolment papers & the judge will see - here is the responsible primary cater who is reliable about getting her kid to a doctor, there is proof the child has been emotionally harmed by the father & he was homeschooled but is not enrolled at X school in X district & commenced schooling on X date has been attending for X time period.

What paperwork is your ex possibly going to provide ? I’m assuming you have his passport & birth certificates ?

Keep the receipt for the uniform for the financial settlement, he should either be paying half or forfeiting all his parental rights & cut him out completely. Would not normally suggest totally severing a parent child relationship (father & son) but whatever your son wants & will keep him safe is right. Supervised visit at a contact centre where he can’t take off is personally the most I’d recommend here.

prawnsword · 18/11/2019 00:22

Make sure to gather any evidence that indicates your ex has threatened to take your son, or anything that shows him being unreasonable generally which would arguably give a person the impression he is the kind of personality to do that.

You even have to get the highlighter out & HIGHLIGHT significant bits... like it really is a school project! Write notes in corner to point out things in text.

I honestly felt reading court documents “this is why they make us do projects at school”

EleanorShellstrop100 · 18/11/2019 10:09

He sounds utterly horrific and he sounds like an awful dad as well as partner. His attitude towards you is vile, his attitude towards his poor sons birthday is vile. What an awful man.

EleanorShellstrop100 · 18/11/2019 10:42

OMG! I have just read the whole thread - I can’t believe I was horrified by your first post alone, and then read all the rest of it ... this thread has been such a bloody emotional rollercoaster just reading it so I can’t even imagine how you’re feeling living it! I was SO worried and disgusted at the beginning and then so proud and happy when you left and absolutely sobbing reading about your wonderful son. And now I’m just rooting for you guys. You’re doing an amazing thing and you’re setting an amazing example for your son and you’re so strong and just incredible. Please stay strong and don’t let him manipulate you into feeling guilty or bad or sorry for him. When I read the beginning of the thread I honestly felt like he would kill you if you stayed with him. His behaviour sounds horrific, terrifying, just unbelievable. A man like that knows what to say to make you doubt yourself, don’t let him. I hope you keep coming to Mumsnet any time you have a wobble or feel bad for him because everyone is on your side and everyone can remind you that you’re doing the right thing for you and your children. You deserve to enjoy your lives and now you can. Ahhhh. So emotional but you’re doing amazing FlowersFlowersFlowers I am giving your a virtual hug right now!

herbie01 · 18/11/2019 11:37

Congratulations on your baby!
Have read the whole thread and your story has really struck a chord with me as we are exact same timing for pregnancy Flowers you are doing so amazing! Stay strong!

AFairlyHardAvocado · 18/11/2019 11:52

I fucking love MN for threads like this. OP, you have an army of us behind you and your boys! You're doing so well and it sounds like a few of us had something in our eyes this morning with your lovely news SmileThanks

BendyLikeBeckham · 18/11/2019 12:48

Wow, I just wanted to give some more moral support to you OP. You are indeed a brave woman and fantastic mum. Your son is so lucky to have you.

Remember to keep all the emails as evidence.

And congratulations on your baby boy. Boys are great!!

MerryInthechelseahotel · 18/11/2019 13:39

You are amazing op ThanksThanksThanks

Fedupofitnow123 · 18/11/2019 16:36

Thank you everyone, this place has been amazing, had the police on the phone for an hour, took the time of our country walk :(, but the telephone statement is updated and the next step is to bring him in, I am terrified again, feel like all the blood has rushed to my head.

OP posts:
ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 18/11/2019 17:10

Remember that this is official now. If he reacts badly, he is reacting badly to the police. Let’s see him try to bully them!

You are doing the right thing. Flowers and you are a very brave lady.

Think back. I wouldn’t be surprised if he told you that you were sensitive and that you were overreacting to his behaviour. Perhaps that nobody would believe you or that they would obviously think you were the problem.

Was he right? Or have the police taken things so seriously that they are building a case to put to the CPS.

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