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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

Is husband just a heartless cold man?

12 replies

Mayvelyn2 · 02/10/2023 23:10

My husband has always not been great with empathy or to put it bluntly he very rarely empathises with anyone and lacks the emotional intelligence to discern what to say when someone is telling him something that upsets them. The issue now arising consistently is with our 7 year old daughter.

She had an issue today at school as most kids do when they fall out with their friends over silly little things and she was quite upset as the girl she’s friends with has started being bossy and mean to her. My husband proceeds to advise her that it’s her fault that the girl is being mean to her and tells her if he sees her within 1 centimetre of this girl she’s in trouble. I obviously chime in at this ridiculous advice as our daughter breaks down crying thinking she’s to blame for her friend being mean to her. I tell him that he’s upset her and it’s not her fault and he gets angry at me, blows up and says I’m interfering and stopping him from being a father! At this point I’m flabbergasted and beyond upset at him for upsetting her and for him not understanding what he’s just done but apparently it’s my fault for pulling him up on giving unhelpful advice. Apparently I’m undermining his parenting, am I?

Is this a bridge that can be gapped or he just doesn’t have enough EQ to know what to say in these situations as I feel this will heavily impact our children from the lack of support and empathy from their father?

OP posts:
ShouldGoToBed · 02/10/2023 23:31

Yes his advice to her makes no sense. Will he discuss it properly after she’s in bed?

AutumnFroglets · 03/10/2023 00:28

I would have agreed it was EQ if it was just him talking to your DD but for him to get so angry at you, and to blame you for his bad parenting, speaks to something worse. Look up DARVO.

GarlicGrace · 03/10/2023 00:37

Good grief, he said what??!! Apart from the complete failure to sympathise with a child's distress, his judgement and directive make no sense.

Has HE got a problem with bullies? Does he respond to any hostility by silently retreating, as he instructed DD?

Mind you, in that case it's unlikely he'd unleash so much hostility on you. You're right, he's trying to blame & punish you for his own inadequacy. I'm guessing he "blows up" fairly regularly? I think you may have a husband-shaped problem.

PostOpOp · 03/10/2023 17:43

Your thread title is going to send you in the wrong direction.

As is this "Is this a bridge that can be gapped or he just doesn’t have enough EQ to know what to say in these situations.."

The part to concentrate in is this "..I feel this will heavily impact our children from the lack of support and empathy from their father?"

You know this is a serious problem. It's stronger than a "feeling". Own it, because it's very important that you don't have a flicker of doubt on this.

Now you are an adult and a parent. Your DH is an adult and a parent. Both of you share equal responsibilities in the safe upbringing of your children. Both of you also are human and can make mistakes.

Your DH has been called out on a mistake and takes no responsibility for it, doesn't even listen to what you have to say, think about why you may be saying it. He attacks - DARVO as mentioned above - because he will not be wrong.

Do not ask "what is it in him that can't be wrong? Why doesn't have empathy/EQ? Is there away he can learn?"

Those are all questions he should be asking himself and thoughts he should be having IF his top priority is the well-being of his child(ren). He may care, but his top priority is not being seen to be wrong.

Your top priority needs to be the emotional health and well-being of your children. You simply cannot make him a better person or parent unless he wants to be. Any energy you invest in that goal is a sunk cost until he decides he wants something different. In the meantime it takes energy away from your children.

Your questions are about him, with the implicitly goal of motivating him, helping him understand or improve his parenting. I'm not criticising, I recognise it because I did those things. For years.

Focus your energy on doing whatever is necessary to provide emotional safety and security for your children. Any energy spent on them is an investment in their future well-being.

You know very well that what he's doing is harmful. And what's unfair to you about that is that it places extra responsibility on you. It's unfair, but you need to not be afraid to call a spade a spade.

Vretz · 03/10/2023 18:06

AutumnFroglets · 03/10/2023 00:28

I would have agreed it was EQ if it was just him talking to your DD but for him to get so angry at you, and to blame you for his bad parenting, speaks to something worse. Look up DARVO.

Your daughter is being bullied by another girl. Your DH has told your DC to stay away from her, admittedly not in the most sympathetic manner, and the priority here is whether DH is somehow "abusing" you (DARVO references etc) rather than contacting the school to deal with the issue?

...and we are talking about DH having low EQ by giving extremely sound advice to tell your DC to steer clear of this girl?

DRS1970 · 03/10/2023 18:08

Could your hubby be autistic?

LeavesOnTrees · 03/10/2023 19:00

He sounds like a narcissist to me.

Burntouted · 03/10/2023 19:01

Did you know he was like this during dating?

FedUpOfItA · 03/10/2023 19:11

He's not a narcissist and without knowing the full perspective from his side it's hard to know. OP is completely convinced by her own interpretation of events which is something I struggle with.

There's no question of how can I deal with this? . My advice OP, is to look at why you reacted like this?

Staying away from a bully is an accepted way of dealing with this situation. Maybe he's on the spectrum but that's a different issue.

Epidote · 03/10/2023 19:20

His advice was bad. You going in the middle was also bad, and yes it is very annoying when someone does what both of you did.

With just one event I would say you are even.

Chelsea543 · 03/10/2023 19:52

My partner is just the same as yours and ALWAYS says the wrong advice. Although mine is autistic and just has a total lack of self awareness and how he should behave/talk to people.

However maybe your partner was just (really badly) trying to warn your daughter to avoid this girl but did it by telling her not to go near this girl or she’ll get in trouble with him.

When things are calm I would talk to him and say you’re sorry for undermining him (even though his advice was awful.) But explain how his advice upset your daughter and that maybe he shouldn’t have made her feel worse by punishing her for going near someone who is already punishing her! He may just need to have it explained.

If he demands he’s right then sadly I think in life your daughter will just learn to not go to him for advice.

Etam · 03/10/2023 21:51

Honestly this sounds like something my husband would do to me!

It's DARVO.

I posted about it the other day.

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