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Step-parenting

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contact problem

6 replies

Alita7 · 07/07/2014 21:24

As some of you know dsd lives with us after being abused at her mums. She has contact at her maternal grandads eow and her mum and sisters visit her there and take her out etc.

He has been having health problems for months and months and I was becoming worried about what we'd do contact wise if he were to be in capable of looking after her or to put it bluntly were to die.

Last week he hadn't been answering his phone and was found in a coma in his flat, he is in intensive care and has many problems and they have no idea what the likely out come is going to be. This weekend just gone was her mums contact weekend and she ended up going to visit the family (aunts and uncle's had come down) with her mum for a few hours on the Saturday but otherwise stayed with us.

Her maternal nan reportedly abused her mum as a child (or so she told dp when they were together although there are no police reports etc) so although she sees her nan she would not be someone she could stay with. Her Mums two sisters are not possibilities, one is 16 and the other lives too far away.

So what would the options be, she cannot stay at her Mums house. And for some silly reason her mums dp says he doesn't want his kids near dp, presumably because dsd isn't allowed near him... but that's for a legal reason. So Her mum never picks her up from her (she's dropped her off once with the grandad ) and if that silliness doesn't change, then dsd will not be able to be picked up by her mum and see the kids. On occasion her nan will be able to pick her up and drop her off for day trips and I would occasionally meet her in town if needed (but I am currently 22 weeks pregnant so this will become more difficult.) if this was too difficult then I don't know if outside services like social services could facilitate contact?
But those options would only be for day contact, is there any service that could offer full weekend or overnight contact?

I worry for dsd, obviously all this with her grandad will be traumatic for her, especially with her learning disabilities as she will struggle to understand what's going on. But also I think that not having somewhere to go to separate time with each family will make it hard (particularly as she's autistic) she has always compartmentalised and gets very distressed and emotional after shorter visits with her mum and sisters but is fine after a weekend away. plus her mum doesn't bother a lot, if her grandad is ill (he's cancelled a few weekends in the past few months) then previously she didn't ask to see her at all so I'd worry that she wouldn't make the effort.
I also have a selfish worry in that it would mean that we never ever have any child free time or at least a child free night, I know that if she was both of our child we wouldn't anyway and that with my baby we won't, but she's very full on with the learning disabilities she has and I have taken on the mother role and sometimes it gets a little bit much if I don't get a break (eg on the weekends when her grandad had been ill before and we'd had her all weekend). I end up feeling guilty when I'm stressed or busy and can't give her as much time and attention as I want to. We wouldn't even be able to have her go to dps parents overnight to have us time if she needed to be available to see her mum on both weekend days and on the other weekend dps other two kids stay over so we wouldn't want to have us time then... Does that make sense?

Anyway obviously the priority is making sure things are good for dsd. Does anyone know of any options we have?

OP posts:
PajamaQueen · 07/07/2014 21:36

I was just going to suggest SS. I'd have a chat with them and explain how the situation has changed. Hopefully they can come up with an alternative - even if it's a support worker supervising Mum's contact in a public place (local play area, cafe, etc).

bonnymiffy · 09/07/2014 13:18

Ask Social Services about respite care - it wouldn't be overnight contact but it would give you a night off! Carers are recruited in a similar way to foster parents, but may not have the capacity (or want) to have someone with them full time. But it would offer your DSD someone who is there just for her with no agenda, they would be trained to cope with any issues she may have, physical or emotional.
Congratulations on your pregnancy!

Alita7 · 09/07/2014 23:29

Thanks guys we'll give them a call! I feel awful at the idea of kicking her out for the night but it will be hard if we can't have her stay at dps parents every now and then due to having to be available to see her mum the next day.

Good news is apparently he is improving well but it could be a while before he's up to having her all weekend again and it could be that this has a long term effect and he's never able to, so we do need to sort out something Contact wise, at least in the short term as I can't imagine he'll be well enough for at least a month. And the summer will have to change as I don't think he'll be able to have her for a week at a time!

OP posts:
wheresthelight · 11/07/2014 15:36

Hey alita I am so sorry aboutvthe grandad! Is he going to be ok?

I definitely think you need to speak to social services and see what they think. Is there a friend that would be willing to facilitate at all?

Your poor dsd! I have also realised I never replied to your om! So sorry will get to it this weekend sorry!!!!

Alita7 · 11/07/2014 17:09

Hey Where,

Dp was meant to call ss today but as usual he forgot!

Her grandad is looking better and is now awake and sometimes lucid. But we're still likely to have some problems fairly long term as he's not going to be up to having her over night for a while especially as with her learning disabilities she isn't always 'easy', not for someone recovering from a major hospital stay anyway! We do need to make solid plans for the future though...

We don't really have any mutual friends, she lost most of her friends due to what happened to dsd and she avoids our close friends like the plague because they know exactly what happened.

OP posts:
wheresthelight · 11/07/2014 21:30

That sounds tough. Social Services will likely offer a contact centre but that will be fir days only unless they have any that offer overnight contact. I think you need to resign yourself to that unfortunately. Nit ideal with your impending arrival I know but may be what is best for dsd

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