Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Step-parenting

Connect with other Mumsnetters here for step-parenting advice and support.

Adult step daughter -grr .

79 replies

pinkpjs · 17/09/2013 13:41

She's a pain . I began the relationship with dh , when she was 11 . She's now 21 married , and a mother to 2 herself .
To begin with she was pleasant child , apart from usual naughtiness you'd expect from teenager. Nothing out the ordinary , just usual , little bit of cheekiness , little it of rebellion ( staying out past time to come in ect ) . Like i said usual stuff. Until I dh and I decided on adding to our family.

When I became pregnant , she became a nightmare . And has stayed that way . She even banned me and her half siblings from her wedding.

To cut a long story short . Dh will always love his dd , as he should , even if he doesn't like her behaviour at times. He does not want to fall out with her , or risk missing out on his grandchildren .

The grandchildren have been kept away from me and my dc also . Shame , but I accept that and am not going to cause a fuss over something I can't change.

However adult step daughter has developed a very odd habit of phoning Dh at inappropriate times , first thing in morning , last thing at night , during films were watching , and generally at times when she knows via Facebook that we are doing something .

This morning it was 5 past 8 , to tell dh she had been to see a psychic . Apparently the psychic told her that Dh will phone her to appologise for something in the near future ... Why did she feel the need to share that when we are in the middle of getting everyone up and out to school and work ? Could it not have waited until after work tonight when he's got time to speak to her .

I am truly the "wicked stepmother " today .... After he tried a few times to get off the phone nicely without upsetting her , I started making "sex noises " in the background .

So I think the psychic might have been right after all ...Dh will need to phone her later to appologise for the " sex noises " Grin .

Hopefully it will make her chose the timing of her phone calls a bit more carefully ! .

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
pinkpjs · 17/09/2013 16:16

" she's not calling you , she's calling her dad ," ... Yes , but also making him run late for work , and he was trying to get off the phone for 10 minutes .

She calls , about nothing . If it was to tell him something important , fair enough . But who wants to hear about what tin of beans someone buys or what happened in eastenders or what you ate the night before that gave you dieorreah , when your about to go to a restaurant ?

If he tells her to call back , she will fall out with him and he won't see his grandchildren .

If I'm an excuse , she won't fall out with him . I don't see them anyway so it doesn't matter if she actively hates me that week or not .

OP posts:
Graceparkhill · 17/09/2013 16:20

It sounds like your DSD has a lot on her plate with 2 small children. The calls to your DH may just be a way of keeping in touch rather than her being deliberately annoying.
Could your DH screen his calls but phone/ text her daily so she feels in the loop.

pinkpjs · 17/09/2013 16:21

I'm not going to ring her , she won't answer the phone to me .

If I see her , I will apologise for larking about , but also tell her to stop phoning at stupid times . If she wants to talk to Dh , she's welcome to do so at any reasonable time ...not when he's getting ready for work or out with me .

Obviously we answer phone calls because we never know if there is an emergency with the dc.

OP posts:
pinkpjs · 17/09/2013 16:28

I do understand keeping in touch , it's not much to ask .

But , Dh does phone her almost everyday . That's nice for him . They also use Facebook all the time , and I've set him up a Skype account ( he didn't know about Skype or how to use it ) so he can video call all his dc . Dss was working abroad for a few months and never called at stupid times .. He'd txt instead . But then again he's turned out a lovely young man .

Stepdaughter just doesn't think reasonable timescales and boundaries apply to her .

OP posts:
usualsuspect · 17/09/2013 16:28

Let her dad deal with the phone calls.

You do sound a bit resentful of her relationship with her dad.

usualsuspect · 17/09/2013 16:30

It's not up to you to tell her when she can call her dad.

DioneTheDiabolist · 17/09/2013 16:37

She is making him late for work. His problem.
She talks to him about tins of beans. Their business.
She falls out with him. His problem.

Disengage and let him work this out with his DD. Your input is not making things better and could be adding to the problems. If you back out, your DH will no longer have to chose sides and can concentrate on getting his and his DD's relationship back on a healthy footing.

pinkpjs · 17/09/2013 16:43

I'm not resentful of her relationship with Dh . No it's up to Dh to grow a pair and tell her to phone at a reasonable hour ... But he might lose his grandchildren if he does .

Nice position to be in . Not .

OP posts:
usualsuspect · 17/09/2013 16:44

He has more chance of sorting his relationship out with her if you back off.

pinkpjs · 17/09/2013 16:48

Everyone had good relationships in our family , except with sd .

I'm making Dh chose sides. As far as I'm concerned there are no sides .

Sd said to him once " her or me " . ( meaning sd and I ) .

Dh was about to disown her over that , I told him not to .

I'm still the bad one in all this .

It's not my problem , but it is my problem if my dc are late for school and Dh is late for work and ends up with no job because of her .

OP posts:
usualsuspect · 17/09/2013 16:50

If she's doing these things to wind you up,it's clearly working.

Ignore her for a bit.

It sounds like you are both trying to 'win'

Be the grown up.

pinkpjs · 17/09/2013 16:54

I did back out , after the wedding fiasco , I went into polite manners only conversation mode .

I stepped back , left them too it . Sd got no attention from me , I had little contact with her . If she visited , I was polite said hello then made excuses about prior arrangements and left to do my own stuff . Dh and her could have time alone then.

That's when the phone calls started .

I cannot tell her to grow up ...she will argue with Dh
I cannot ignore her completely ...she will argue with Dh
I cannot argue back ...she will argue with Dh
If I try to befriend her ....she will argue with Dh

What am I supposed to do ?

OP posts:
pinkpjs · 17/09/2013 17:00

Like I said earlier , the only thing I can do to stop her behaviour is leave Dh . And I'm not going to do that .

So it's not a case of winning .

Winning would be having a normal relationship with her like we do with everyone else .

Its Not possible . I'm tired of this . I don't know why sd acts like this . Maybe she gets kicks out of it .Sad

OP posts:
birdybear · 17/09/2013 17:13

why don't you just do nothing? it sounds like she is trying to wind you ip and it is working. you sound so immature. if she rings, don't pick up if it isn't for you. if it is for your dh, let him get on with it. if he doesn't pick up and she falls out with him, then let them sort it out.

you sound ridiculous and trying to manage their relationship when you should just leave them to it. if she chooses to not let him see his grandchildren, then it is her silly choice. if you want to treat her like an adult, which you should as she is, then let her manage her own behavior and ultimatums.

Mumsnut · 17/09/2013 17:15

What she gets out of it is precisely this ... she winds you up.

She does sound appalling, tbh.

However, I think you need to engage with your dh over the problem, rather than with her. He needs to understand how she is affecting your relationship, and install some boundaries. Even saying 'Sorry love, can't talk now' when she calls is going to help a lot.

Stepmooster · 17/09/2013 17:35

Your stepdaughter sounds insecure and selfish about not wanting to share her father with other children. A proper daddy's girl, who for whatever reason, never got over her father having more children and consequently less time for her.

Its up to your DH tbh to decide if its acceptable that one of his children (adult) can be rude to his wife and totally ignore his other children who are still children.

Its up to your DH to demand respect for you all. If it were one of my children who invited me but not my DH or any of my other children to their wedding then I wouldn't be attending, and I wouldn't be in that much contact until some maturing and apologising took place.

If it were me whose husband were having endless ridiculous conversations with his adult child at inappropriate times it would be him I was mad at, not DSD. He sounds a bit too pathetic, sorry he does, and probably spent most of the last 10 years trying very hard not to ever be the bad guy and was a bit too disney so as not to lose his daughter's love.

I think you're cutting him far too much slack and he needs to stick up for you all. What must your kids think? DSD will only speak with daddy (everyday) she doesn't love us, what did we do wrong?

No I wouldn't stand for it. DSD can behave how she likes but I'd be expecting my DH to grow some balls and call her on it, you never know she might actually grow up a bit.

BTW never admit to stooping to any level below that of a saint on mumsnet. Parents are allowed bad days and to have average parenting skills, us step mums are expected to be perfect all the time.

3rdnparty · 17/09/2013 17:40

I think your Dh needs to manage this - why's he answering the phone with anything more than a 'is it urgent i'm on the way to work' answer first thing in the morning ?- he could just say that and do a breezy 'call you later' close

He will probably not lose contact with his grand children but he might for a while if she sulks -cos she sounds like a tantruming child, he needs to treat her like an adult sounds like he's still treating her as a child....

where is her dh/dp in all this?

it would irritate me to but for your sake would go back to the ignore ignore as if she was a toddler....

3rdnparty · 17/09/2013 17:41

mean 'too'

3littlefrogs · 17/09/2013 17:44

You both sound immature TBH.

I don't answer the phone if it isn't convenient. I expect the caller to leave a message.

fubar74 · 17/09/2013 18:05

Hehehe

But really don't stoop to her intelligence level

daisychain01 · 17/09/2013 18:22

Based on my own experience, fighting fire with fire is a pointless endeavour, which serves only to make a relationship with a step child spiral into increasing negativity.

Remember the thing about kids who argue, and argue, and argue, to the stage they lose sight of exactly what the original point was? That is how it sounds from what you have described, pink.

The reality is that we all wake up in the morning and "choose our attitude" and both you and your SD have chosen to continue to take the contrary-position against each other, for so long, it can only ever end badly if you continue in this same way. If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got.

Call time on the whole situation, not necessarily by declaring it out loud, that will not help, but just be resolute in no longer stirring up the anger. OK, so you have tried a few things that clearly make it worse (sex noises, maybe other things you havent mentioned, but stuff due to sleep deprivation or just sheer frustration, whatever).

The 'best friend' you have is your ansaphone, activate it, use it, field your calls, answer calls if and when you and DH choose. It is a non-aggressive, benign way of signaling that you are in control. Your DH can continue to have a loving relationship with his DD which will reassure her that she is still very important to him. That is really what counts to her, all the rest is just "noise".

You would do well not to contribute to the "noise".

UC · 17/09/2013 18:51

You sound a lot more measured now OP, and some of the back story is out. I imagine you wrote your original message when you were still feeling het up and stressed?

I agree with Stepmooster and Mumsnut. Talk to your DH. He is enabling these behaviours.

Kaluki · 18/09/2013 11:10

Totally agree with Stepmooster.
It is your DH's issue. Not yours.
You need to back off and ignore the phone calling - she obviously does it to annoy you, so don't let it!
DH needs to man up and tell this silly girl that you and your dc are his family as much as her and if she can't behave like an adult and accept that then she runs the risk of losing a big part of her family.
Its his tiptoeing around her that enables her to behave like this.

Petal02 · 18/09/2013 11:16

OP - I wonder what your step-daughter's husband thinks to all this? My husband would find it very strange indeed if I started the "must ring Daddy repeatedly about trivia" routine.

pinkpjs · 18/09/2013 11:51

Answer machine is good idea , in theory .

But when you've got someone who doesnt leave messages and rings repeatedly until she speaks to she wants to , when she wants to , it's sort of redundant .

Dh took a bit of a stand yesterday . She called him ( again ) , when he was at work . He's told her he is accepting her invite to stay this weekend , but he is bringing all her siblings , 4 of them , full and half .

So they all can spend time with her and dgc. But he's only coming up for a day ,as he knows an invasion will be a bit much any longer . He also told her that her little sister ( our dd ) really misses her and is looking forward to the visit .

He also asked her not to call him during work , as he could get in trouble from his bosses , but won't answer anymore calls during the day . So that she understands its not that he doesn't want to speak to her , but if she phoned at a better time , he would have more time to speak .

Here's hoping the weekend goes well . So far so good today ...there has been no early morning call or late/middle of the night call .

OP posts: