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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

I feel like I'm his slave

113 replies

LeighanneKelly86 · 05/08/2021 19:32

Just a rant... Am I unreasonable to think he should at least clean up after himself?
We have a baby, and other children. I'm currently on maternity leave but usually work 30hrs a week around school hours etc.
I literally always do everything, and I mean I literally even have to put his own shoes away once he's come in.
He's never once made our baby a bottle, he's now 9 months old, he's never fed him, never bathed him or put him to bed, he doesn't look after or cleaned up after his own children that visit. I have to do everything. I get the children to bed and then have to come and do dinner whilst he lays on the sofa; then I have to take his plate out and do the dishes! Even when I was working it was all down to me; now I'm not - it's just an excuse for him. He literally doesn't even make the bed after he has a lay in which is another thing as he's never once got up with the baby, or even feed him during the night when he was newborn; thank god he starting sleeping through at 5 weeks or I would literally have been a zombie.

He thinks as he works that's it, I do everything else. He doesn't even empty the bins, oh and he will just leave rubbish on top of the kitchen bin and not even open it to put it inside!! Leaves dishes all over the side... am I unreasonable to think that he's lazy? Nothing will change when I return to work as he says he will still work more hours. I'm exhausted all the time. Any advice?

OP posts:
mummytotwoboys0600 · 07/08/2021 06:33

@Rubysunshine29

I can't believe some of the entitled and downright rude comments on here. I'm so pleased there are so many of you with perfect partners, who feel the need to look down on someone clearly at their wits end and reaching out. Whatever happened to common decency and kindness? this lady has reached out for support and instead is told she has "enabled" this behaviour, she deserves what she gets and what example she is setting? Shame on you if you've posted anything like this. Vile people.
Thank you for your comment. Many women saying I'm the idiot blah blah when I came in here for some advice, talk about "be kind" and women supporting each other. I haven't done this to myself, I've slowly ended up this way and never would have let this happen intentionally. I just wanted some advice as to how to make him understand that actually being at home is bloody hard work and it's not physically possible to carry on with the weight of the world on my shoulders as well as going back to a 30hr a week job. 🤷🏻‍♀️
mummytotwoboys0600 · 07/08/2021 06:40

@NowEvenBetter

No need to tag me Ruby , OP hasn’t bothered returning. You are welcome, I am one of the many victims of women who put cock before kids and am sadly all too aware of the carnage inflicted on kids by having deadbeat scum for fathers, and enabling mothers. Feel free to attack posters who cause miserable childhoods for new generations, since you’re into whining at internet strangers. Shame on you.
I did return but to be quite honest and I was gobsmacked at the horrible comments I received so didn't want to return for a bashing.
youvegottenminuteslynn · 07/08/2021 07:09

I just wanted some advice as to how to make him understand that actually being at home is bloody hard work and it's not physically possible to carry on with the weight of the world on my shoulders as well as going back to a 30hr a week job.

He doesn't care. It's that simple.

He doesn't care because he sees cooking, cleaning and childcare as your job because you're a woman.

He's a lazy misogynist and a shit dad.

You can't 'make him understand' when he doesn't care. You don't get that because you're nice and normal so you have empathy.

He sees all those things - the day to day stuff everyone needs to do like cleaning and childcare - as beneath him. But not beneath you. That tells you how he views you.

He's never made a bottle, fed or put baby in bath or bed - he sees this as hard work. He watches me struggle through the evening with my other child too and just sits there even if he's not been at work that day.

This isn't what love looks like. It's what an absence of care for you or your kids looks like. He's never fed / bathed his own baby... words can't express how insane that is.

Please don't teach your children that these are the roles of a man and woman, or they will likely replicate them as adults in their own relationships.

It's not mean for people to point that out, it's constructive and the painful truth.

KatharinaRosalie · 07/08/2021 08:52

How to make him see? Well of course you can try to explain that you should both have equal leisure time, and nobody should sit down until chores are done and everybody can sit down.

But he has already told you that he doesn't care. He knows. Just doesn't care.

Illstartexercisingtomorrow · 07/08/2021 09:21

You can’t ‘make’ him see.

It’s perfectly obvious to a decent man.

He’s just not a decent man.

Two options: put up with it, or leave.

Whatever you decide - make sure you go back to work. It will be your lifeline in either situation, otherwise you may become trapped.

stepupandbecounted · 07/08/2021 09:45

He can see op, perfectly well, but chooses not to.

Welshgal85 · 07/08/2021 10:45

I think it will be hard to make him see your point of view as he sounds quite set in his ways and opinions of you being the one to do it all.

Could you go away for a night or two? Stay with a friend or family member and literally leave him to it and hopefully he will see for himself that looking after children is a full time job.

He has an easy life at home right now as you do everything for him, I understand how this has happened gradually over time and you don’t want to just leave things get messy etc, but sounds like he needs a sharp dose of reality and a wake up call. What does he say when you say you can’t continue like this?

Welshgal85 · 07/08/2021 10:51

Also, remember you deserve better than this situation. He needs to really listen and understand you and your concerns and not just fob you off. If he does and isn’t it willing to change what will you do?

I’m sorry he is being so unhelpful, it is his child too, his home too, he shouldn’t do things as a ‘favour’ to you, you should be a team.

updownroundandround · 07/08/2021 11:45

@mummytotwoboys0600

I agree with the PP's who have all said that he knows it's bloody hard work ! He simply doesn't want to do any of it !

You can tell him ''If it's so easy then you do it !'' or ''It's impossible for me to do it all as well as work 30hrs a week !'' until you're blue in the face, and he'll still be metaphorically sticking his fingers in his ears and singing ''la la la'' Sad

But in the spirit of helping each other, I'll post this, for him to read. Then ask him how he could ever consider himself a ''real'' man ?

Why I Don't Help My Wife
Recently, I invited a friend over. Sipping coffee in my living room, the conversation turned from movies and sports to life. We are both about the same age, and both have been married for about the same amount of time. As we talked, I heard the loud clamoring of the dishwasher stop as it finished its final cycle. Excusing myself, I told my friend I must put away the dishes.My friend shot me a glance: a shock of disbelief, almost defensive in posture. He told me that it's great that I help out my wife, but that he doesn't bother. “Every time I do chores,” he said, “she doesn't have an ounce of gratitude. If she's not gonna thank me for helping her out, why should I even bother?” This startled me. I'm normally not a confrontational kind of guy. I don't like to talk about politics, and I usually keep my comments to myself. But this was too much. I couldn't contain myself.“Look man, I said, I'm not 'helping her out. My wife doesn't need 'help.' She needs a partner. The two of us are a team.” He started to reply, trying to explain what he meant by the comment, but I stopped him, continuing:I don't “help” my wife clean the house. We keep our house clean because we both live here and want the house to be clean. I clean the house because it's where I live, and my wife isn't a maid, but a partner.I don't “help” my wife cook because it's not her job to cook and my job to eat. We both live here, we both need to eat, and in order for us to eat, the cooking needs to be done.I don't “help” my wife do the dishes because they're my dishes, too. I eat off them, just like her, and it's in both of our interests to have them be cleaned.I don't “help” my wife with her children because they're my children, too. They need a mother and they need a father, and raising them is both of our jobs.I don't “help” my wife clean, fold clothes, do laundry, or any other chores because they aren't only “hers,” but mine.I'm not only a “help,” a hired hand that helps my wife out on occasion in exchange for a “thank you,” a kiss, or sex. I am a part of the house.Then, I turned back to my friend, his face tense with embarrassment. I was now in my full preacher mode, and it was time to charge my audience with conviction. I asked him “do you thank your wife every time she cleans the house?” He clamored to defend himself, but I continued: “I'm not talking about a half-baked “thanks” that you mutter from across the room, but actually looking her in her eye and saying that you appreciate that she worked all day to help you take care of your home!” “Do you look her in the eye and tell her she's fantastic, beautiful, the best thing that ever happened to you and that she means the world to you?” “Do you tell her how much you love that she keeps your house clean?”You should not “help” your wife with the chores in exchange for some kind of prize. What prize does she get for helping you out? You need to get out of this “Leave it to Beaver” mentality, step out of TV Land, and step up and be a real husband.My friend stood speechless, flabbergasted, fumbling to find an excuse. I shrunk in slight embarrassment for a moment, even though I knew it had to be said.I spoke again to break the silence: “I'm just saying man, your wife doesn't owe you anything. She's not your “help,” and you should treat her like an equal partner.”Many of us were raised in home with mothers who waited on us hand in foot. We took their help for granted, because they had to raise us and take care of us. But your wife is not your mother. She's not raising you, and you're not a child. Marriage is an equal partnership. Your wife is not your mother, and she's not there to take care of you.You are there to take care of each other, to have a house together, raise children together, and form an equal partnership. That means each of you carrying your share of the load, and thanking each other for help. Macho culture would make you think that everything is your wife's job, but there's nothing macho about this. It's the behavior of a child who needs to be taken care of, not an adult who can provide in a partnership.Imagine a child who constantly demands help from his mother, constantly makes messes, and never thanks her for anything. That's basically how you act towards your wife. That might be acceptable for a young infant, but not for an adult. So thank your wife for what she does, and make sure that you carry an equal share of the load, helping her in any way possible.When you make a mess, you shouldn't expect your wife to clean it up. It's your job to clean up your own messes. You both live there, you're not “helping” her with anything because it's your home.Likewise, it's not her job to constantly cook. In my home, I always do the cooking, because I'm good at it.These “traditional” roles were sold to us by fictional television. They say nothing about the reality of marriage. If you step all over your wife like Homer Simpson, you are on a one-way street to a divorce.So to everyone out there who is concerned about their own masculinity, if you want to be a macho man, stop acting like a child and making your wife do all the work and chores. Thank her, and do your part to contribute.

Remember, if you really want to do something, you'll find a way, but if you don't want to do it, you'll find an excuse !

Oh, if you'd rather go with a funny way of trying to ''get him to see'' how unreasonable he's being, then use this

www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=SqQgDwA0BNU

or this

Mental Load comic strip
english.emmaclit.com/2017/05/20/you-shouldve-asked/

Destin8 · 07/08/2021 11:48

Did you know what you were getting into?

floppybit · 07/08/2021 11:49

Oh god, the thing about leaving rubbish on top of the bin has blown my mind

AnyFucker · 07/08/2021 16:33

Has the op come back with a name change ? Confused

Anyway, you can’t “make him see”. He does see, he just doesn’t give a toss. That’s all there is to say about that.

Tolerate it or split. I am afraid there isn’t another way.

Saraj09876 · 08/08/2021 21:26

I could have wrote this post! Xx

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