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Step-parenting

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How to deal with/talk to a teen with this kind of attitude? Get a cuppa it's a long one!

11 replies

LazySusan11 · 09/06/2017 20:53

Dsd is 13 I've been with dh for considerable years since dsd was small (not other woman was an amicable split, also have no idea why I need to share this) have a good relationship with dh ex gf no problems with her, her partner or them with us. We share a 50/50 split and live close to each other.

A few nights ago dsd comes out of the bathroom after her shower before bed and shouts down to me not dh 'can you wash these for tomorrow?' She throws down the stairs 1 bra and a pair of pants. No idea why she wants those particular ones washing asap as she has several identical items in her drawers and wasn't time of the month.

Anyway, I had finished all the laundry so there really was just her 2 things for the wash so I explained I wasn't going to put the washing machine on for just those 2 bits.

She started shouting at me 'I want them washing for tomorrow' I said no. She then says 'whatever I want them washing BY TOMORROW'

I don't shout at dsd I don't feel it's my place and I 99% of the time step back at let dh sort stuff out - unless she's directly rude to me, which in this instance she was. I said to her 'how dare you speak like that, demanding I do your laundry' she replied 'I haven't done anything wrong'

Dh steps in at this point and tells her she was rude and disrespectful she again starts saying she's done nothing wrong and wasn't rude and there's nothing I can do about it. Dh asks her to go to her room and she refuses, dh tells her to go to her room and again she refuses saying 'you can't make me'

Consequently he tells her that she is no longer having her friend over the following day and she went postal. Shouting and screaming saying he wasn't listening that she's done nothing wrong that I was rude (I hadn't shouted at her!) and I am the disrespectful one, eventually goes to her room slams her door.

Dh and I are talking neither of us particularly happy but no raised voices, dsd opens the door and shouts down 'why don't you just shut up' and slams the door again.

Her yelling and screaming has gone on for an hour and, even when we ignore her she is relentless in her barrage of abuse. We get a few weeks of her being ok no major outbursts then she gets like this and each time she gets ruder and ruder towards me.

She refuses to do anything she's asked and she always has to have the last word she goes on and on and on. I don't know what to do, dh doesn't know what to do turning off the wifi, removing phone/iPad, no friends over nothing has an effect. If we ignore her when she's shouting she shouts louder she follows you around shouting and I'm so fed up. We're all fed up.

Dsd will text her mum who then texts dh who then calls her and they discuss whatever and both come to the same conclusion. They are on the same page which is great but we are all at a total loss of how to handle these situations.

Any advice as a parent or step parent who's dealt with similar?

OP posts:
DaffodilTime · 09/06/2017 21:04

Gosh this sounds very difficult for you all and I'd say you are doing everything right which doesn't really help as she's still being disrespectful!
Can you or your DH ask her to choose something she'd really like to do that you could do together, have a really positive time and gently bring up how it makes you feel when she does this and ask her if she can think of a way to handle it better when she wants a favour done?
(I.e. See if she can work out for herself it would have been nicer to ask would it be at all possible to wash this, I can do it myself and the reason it is important is...)?

DaffodilTime · 09/06/2017 21:05

Ps just rereading my advice it makes me cringe as maybe that isn't suitable at all- as I'm talking as mum to younger kids so it probably isn't the right approach!! But I always like to see if they can resolve things when there's a problem!

Hassled · 09/06/2017 21:09

I don't think this is a step-parenting issue as much as just a dealing with a teenage girl thing. My DD was bloody awful at that age - I counted to ten a lot and eventually learnt to pick my battles. It's relentless and horrible and I sympathise. All I can really say is that they do eventually emerge as perfectly nice people.

Does she behave like this with her mother? Do you feel she's saving her bad behaviour up for you?

Hassled · 09/06/2017 21:12

What did help when DD was at her peak-awful stage was bizarrely trips to the cinema. It was quality one to one time, having a shared experience etc but we didn't actually have to talk to or look at each other. But it did create a sense that we'd had a nice time together, and it was good for our relationship.

LazySusan11 · 09/06/2017 22:22

Thing is we do have lots of 1-1 I take her for lunch we have girly days, dh takes her for brunch/dinner/days out. We go out as a family. Her mum does the same. We can have a lovely day out come home and she'll find something to go bonkers about. She has no remorse and feels as though she's completely justified!

She's no different with her mum in fact I think her mum has it worse.

She is so entitled 'dad can you get me my cereal' 'dad can you get me a drink' the list is endless, she speaks to us as if we are staff and it so irritating! (Dh always pulls her up on her manners and tells her to get her own x y z)

OP posts:
DaffodilTime · 10/06/2017 20:33

Can you gently reverse it- e.g. I can't get your cereal now as I'm making everyone coffee but can you get mine? It's a long shot but might make her think of others and her impact on others too.
We used to do this with sales calls as if someone rang trying to sell printers we'd say we have enough thanks but have a lovely HP top of the range one could sell you if you want or some great windows that can be customised, etc ...

Redcliff · 10/06/2017 23:29

This is so my future - my son has similar outbursts like this and he's not even a teen yet. Good luck to both of us

ifcatscouldtalk · 11/06/2017 00:10

op my sympathies. I have a 12 Year old daughter. She can create an arguments and dramas out of nothing. Shes not had the easiest transition into secondary and I feel that I am always there fighting her corner if needed and supporting her but atm she seems to hate me. I try to ignore the arguing and have taken to a potter in the shed or a very long wee in the locked bathroom. I am not good with disrespect though and am looking for ways to handle this too.

Ikeatears · 11/06/2017 00:20

All I can say is, keep doing what you're doing. She will hopefully grow out of it. The most important thing is that she gets a consistent message across both homes and it seems like you're all doing a great job at this (no mean feat - trust me, I know) My dsd is now 22 and I've lost count of the hours of phone calls both dh and I had with her mum where we all tried to figure out the best course of action. We just kept on going and now she's a lovely, well-rounded, young woman. It may just be luck on our part but I think the fact that we all stuck with it and continued with a consistent message certainly helped.

RJnomore1 · 11/06/2017 00:23

My best advice is don't engage. If she talks to you like that walk away. Respond when she can speak to you in a normal way.

It's tough tough tough but I agree it's not a stepchild problem it's a teenage girl thing.

LazySusan11 · 11/06/2017 05:12

Thought it was one of these teen phenomenons! I wouldn't have dared speak to my parents like that, I wasn't an easy teen but I knew where the line was. She sadly doesn't care and believes she is always right.

Roll on 20 something!

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