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Relationships

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

My kids and this weekend ? Wtf happenned what now ?

67 replies

Armychefbethebest · 27/07/2021 10:12

So the background is I have 4 children Dd22 who lives with her partner and 14 month old dd , ds19 who moved into his dads last year , dd13 who lives with me and my ds11 who also lives with me. My partner of 3 years we live together and he has a dd21 own place and a ds13 who comes a few nights a week.
So thank you if you are still with me after that , myself and partner had booked a city break after the year everyone has had been trying to work through and also ds13 and my partner needing big operations in the last 12 months it had been quite stressful so my eldest dd 22 volunteers to have ds13 and ds 11 at her place for the weekend as she sometimes does and I have my dgd for her sometimes to give her a break. My ds 19 agrees to dog sit for us so off we go have a lovely weekend, we come back Sunday around lunchtime to find dd13 at home upstairs with 2 off her friends looking very sheepish she asks if she can stay at one of the girls houses , I say yes as I know where they live 12 miles away next street to my oldest daughter and the girls mum is picking them up. I ask ds13 why she was home as I was expecting her to be with my oldest she said she had stayed in our house with her friends as my son was here and he said it was ok then bolted quickly .I called my oldest daughter then who said she believed dd13 was sleeping at the friends house not our house so now alarm bells are ringing. I then go into the yard where there are roll up cigarette end stubbed out . Noone I know smokes roll up and the yard was clean when I left .i ring my eldest son who said yes she stayed but couldnt tell me how many people stayed .By now i know something is amiss but decide i will wait until the next day when dd13 gets back from her friends only the next day i find a bottle of baileys that my daughter had bought for my birthday had been opened and some drank , i messaged my son to ask him about it he said yes sorry he tried some as he had forgot what it was like , but I dont believe him something is off so I look on the iPad upstairs and find a very new convo between ds19 and dd13 him asking If it's her he will cover for her which is followed by a ten minute video call , busted ! I message my dd13 and tell her I want her home immediately I then call my son and he totally lacked any respect his exact word were 'you are a mum of four not m15' I told him at 19 I regarded him as an adult but he had blatantly lied about the alcohol and I was struggling to believe he had actually stayed at the house and he should be more onside with me about his 13 year old sister drinking . I also found the key I had left him in the exact same place that I dont believe he has been there to use so the situation now is my eldest dd wont pick up my calls since I began to piece my youngest daughters location of the weekend together I am annoyed as I left my youngest 2 in her care and I fully believe my daughter has stayed home alone all weekend having a free for all with her mates , my son and I have had a massive argument as according to him I should just let her do as she wishes no rules , no boundaries no repercussions as she will do it anyway so that did not go well after 4 hours of her not coming back and not responding I said that I was going to report her missing as by that time I had no idea where she was and it was getting dark . His response was why would you do that ? You do you ! It turns out she was hiding at my eldest dd and told me she will come home today when I've calmed down.
Mumsnetters where do I go from here I'm going between angry because of what's happenned and also what could of happenned and I'm oblivious in another city thinking everyone is safe. Disappointed because I expected better from all 3 of them and upset just by how now Dd22 wont pick the phone up, Ds thinks it's ok to speak to me like shit and I feel this is the start of a rocky road with my youngest daughter, how would you handle this ?? If you made it this far thank you.

OP posts:
Armychefbethebest · 27/07/2021 15:13

Obviously the 4 weeks is purely for shock factor I will reduce it for good behaviour though I wont budge on the sleepovers until I know this incident has given her some real food for thought about how grown up she really is , yes the oldest knew as well so I will draw a line weve talked I've said my part shes told me the truth (eventually) and come home to face the music. I just need a few days before I speak to the older 2 I knew by my oldest dd avoiding the phone and my sons downright disrespect that I had caught them out, kids eh I'm sure it wont be the last time it would be nice if you could hibernate them for a few years until they got through this stage 🤣🤣🤣 thank you again for your advice ladies even after 22 years of being a mum it's still nice to ask for advice xxx I have been food shopping not sure what was in the trolley as I just walked around chucking stuff in with madam and her bottom lip trailing the supermarket floor and at least I'll sleep tonight x

OP posts:
Mix56 · 27/07/2021 21:39

Cherrysoup. So what do you suppose the stubbed out roll ups were in the garden ?

CrazyNeighbour · 27/07/2021 21:53

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

CherryDocsInYrBalls · 27/07/2021 22:20

Just out of interest, why didn't your children stay with their dad?

Just10moreminutesplease · 27/07/2021 22:41

I’m confused, did your older dd think she was at her friends or did she know she was at home?

If she thought she was staying at friends and you haven’t explicitly told her this wasn’t allowed then she did nothing wrong (apart from not telling you she was at her house later on, but allowing her to hide out is understandable if you were very strict when she was growing up).

If she did know then she was very irresponsible. Maybe a calm conversation will help her see how dangerous the situation was (at 23 I don’t think I would have truly comprehended how stupid it was).

Your son behaved badly but is himself very young and probably remembers being 13 a little too well to see the situation as an adult.

Obviously you’re youngest was stupid...but 13 year olds can be incredibly daft.

You’ve had a shock and you’re angry. I’d calm down before speaking to any of them. Your son lives with his dad and your daughter lives independently. How you react now could shape your future relationships.

Armychefbethebest · 28/07/2021 05:41

@CherryDocsInYrBalls they didnt stay with their dad because we split 6 years ago and one day 3.5 years ago out of the blue he just never came back or contacted them ever again , I have tried so many times but I cant make him no reason given . @Just10moreminutesplease my eldest daughter originally told me afterwards on the Sunday that my youngest dd had stayed at her friends sunday but as I said we came home earlier than expected and she was here my eldest daughter knew she had been here from friday , when they go to their elder sisters it's probably once every few months and my eldest knows they are there to stay at hers and only hers, if my youngest dd stays out I always check with the other persons mum to 1. Make sure they are where they say they are and 2. So I know she is safe . As I said I've already dealt with my youngest dd and I do feel it is appropriate and may make her think twice in the future . The other 2 I think is a good idea to have a few days to cool off .it would be a lot easier if they all came with.manuals like a gremlin 😊

OP posts:
princesslarmadrama · 28/07/2021 05:53

@MarkRuffaloCrumble 4 weeks is hardly hell and she does need punishing. Sounds like your a pushover parent!

Oddbutnotodd · 28/07/2021 06:02

Your biggest issue was going away and leaving your 13 year old behind. Expecting older siblings to parent was never going to work.

TacCat49 · 28/07/2021 06:50

Do the parents of the girls who stayed know that there was no parental supervision. Maybe they should be advised. That way the parents will be keeping a lookout for problems when their daughters want to spend a night away.

FunMcCool · 28/07/2021 07:21

I’d be the most upset with the eldest two. The 13 year old is being a 13 year old but the others are adults and ones a mother!

Are they usually like this op? How in any universe can they think this is ok? I’d be actually quite concerned about what kind of mother your daughter is if she disregards safety like this.

MarianneUnfaithful · 28/07/2021 07:35

My 19 year old DS would be really worried about a 13 year old staying on their own, and would feel far too protective to allow or collude with such a thing. Though would probably cover for a moderate amount of underage drinking, through teen solidarity.

CherryDocsInYrBalls · 28/07/2021 09:08

It's taught you that it's clearly too much responsibility to leave two children with your eldest when she also has a little one to look after. It's a sibling dynamic not a parent child so I think you need to take a step back and say you realise now the responsibility was too much. Why did you ask her? Why did she agree and then abdicate the responsibility? Why did your 13 year old prefer time on her own/with friends. I think there's a lot to unpick in the family dynamics and a lot more communication needed. 4 weeks grounding is not proportional in my view, especially if your daughter has lost a lot of this year isolating. Lots for you to think about

MarkRuffaloCrumble · 28/07/2021 09:55

[quote princesslarmadrama]@MarkRuffaloCrumble 4 weeks is hardly hell and she does need punishing. Sounds like your a pushover parent! [/quote]
Not a pushover no, but I don’t see how keeping a kid stuck at home bored shitless for 4 weeks is a proportional punishment.

They lost a whole year of being able to hang out with friends last year. School has been weird and life has turned upside down for these kids. How does socially isolating them help at all? It’s fucked up. The summer holidays feel endless when you’re young.

OP has already said she’ll reduce it so she obviously agrees that it’s not sustainable. I just always think it’s better to dish out a proportional consequence to start with than to go in heavy handed for shock value and then cave at the first sign of them being fed up with it, as it makes you look weak.

Ineverpromisedyouarosegarden · 28/07/2021 10:15

I really feel for you @Armychefbethebest
Dh and I have just cancelled a weekend away. Ds 13 and Dd 16 are pushing all the boundaries at the minute and I just don't feel I can leave them with anybody until they are more settled. Extremely disappointing at this age to not be able to even leave them for a one night break. It was easier when they were babies. Hmm

litterbird · 28/07/2021 10:28

Well done OP for dealing with this, I have no further advise but just reading your thread sent my heart pounding as I remember my 13 year old daughter caused me so many problems at that age. She is 23 and delightful now. Keep going you are doing the best you can with an absent wanker of a father for them.

Mix56 · 28/07/2021 13:31

"Wht did your13 year old prefer time on her own/with friends?"🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Do you have teenagers?

CherryDocsInYrBalls · 28/07/2021 15:36

Yes I do, but how my teenagers act isn't relevant. It's food for thought for the op about the family dynamics, family boundaries and poor choices on everybody's part. 13 year olds obviously can't fully risk assess the situation but op and the eldest daughter can and the eldest daughter decided to abdicate responsibility. It would be worth the op exploring that.

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