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dh just accused me of thinking dss was fat

52 replies

ohgodbigargumentjuststarted · 22/06/2008 21:31

and I agreed. he is overweight and I just couldnt lie again. he eats chips burgers crisps and is constantly looking for his next meal. dh acknowledges that he is greedy and yells at him about it (which I don't incidentally) but has just blown up at me for voicing the bleedin obvious.

for the record I love dss dearly, he is a lovely warm hearted boy who is a great brother to my dd

unfortunately eating wise he is rather like dh which is part of the reason dh reacted so angrily (denial), he is overweight, I have been very overweight myself until recently so I am not some kind of obsessive skinny minnie

birth mother is always on at him to exercise and serves up good healthy food, or so dss tells us, so she is aware of the problem although I am not close enough to talk to her about it

I am a shit stepmother arent I. should I have just lied? I am worried for his health going forward and think dh should support bm more and stop the constant greed when he stays with us. opinions please

OP posts:
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ohgodbigargumentjuststarted · 22/06/2008 22:51

abouteve - a minefield?? a bloody war zone here!

he does not get served massive portions when I am in charge of dinner. however since I have known him at ag 6 he has been allowed by dh to eat an adult sized portion every meal out or in the house. I don't think I have ever known him to have a kids meal.

what he does with his mum I don't know, but as I said at least from what we hear from dss she is making an effort.

I think dh just spoils him really, food is love in his opinion

thanks for all your replies by the way. was starting to feel that maybe I was being unreasonable but don't think I am now

OP posts:
dittany · 22/06/2008 22:58

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ohgodbigargumentjuststarted · 22/06/2008 23:06

yeah I think you're right. dh always moaning on about his own weight problem but never does anything about it, he seems to think that just by simply announcing he is going on a diet he will shed the extra pounds overnight!

does he cut down sensibly? does he bollocks

a bit like I used to be really

as for the spoiling, dh is responsible for marriage break up, altho not with me I hasten to add, so has spent the last 7 years lavishing large expensive presents and large expensive plates of food on dss to make up for it. his heart is in the right place but his thinking is a little, well... wonky?

OP posts:
dittany · 22/06/2008 23:13

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ohgodbigargumentjuststarted · 22/06/2008 23:18

dittany I honestly don't think he knows what a hunger pang feels like.

he eats so much I cannot beleive he ever gets hungry, at least not when hes with dh

I know that boys in particular can have growth spurts and want to eat and eat and eat, but this is just all the time.

how to broach the subject with dh tho? he will go nuts and just accuse me of victimising dss like he did earlier

this is such a contentious issue in our house!

OP posts:
controlfreakyagain · 22/06/2008 23:21

family therapy?
seriously, sounds like you all have food issues....

ohgodbigargumentjuststarted · 22/06/2008 23:23

yeah well, you're a control freak!

OP posts:
controlfreakyagain · 22/06/2008 23:31

i am. i have insight. but i was serious....

fizzymum · 23/06/2008 19:58

My brother had this problem with his dd. All he could do was to ensure that the time she spent with him she ate very healthily and was as active as possible, beyond this it was out of his control as he couldn't control what she ate when she was with her mother. Her mother by the way couldn't cook and the dc's lived on chicken nuggets and chips.

whitebeachesandcoconutoil · 25/06/2008 13:19

controlfreakyagain i have just read this and i don't think that you have been particularly helpful so what if op calls the mother birth mother ? personally i think if someone calles me a birth mother i would think yeah i am so what IS the problem you are just being pedantic and i think there is a specific board for that

controlfreakyagain · 25/06/2008 21:16

and to you too.
i dont believe you would be "unbothered" by your dcs stepmother calling you "the birth mother".....
i was more interested in the op's views than in yours i think.

controlfreakyagain · 25/06/2008 21:18

sorry and

Malibugirl · 30/06/2008 13:09

I am new to this board, so first of all "HI "

Secondly, I just had to add to this post as I am going through a similar thing with my DSS. He is 11 and is getting quite overweight. I too would never mention this to or in front of DSS, but when trying to discuss it with DH, he just refuses to say anything bad about what he eats. DSS refuses to eat any normal food, although he used to eat quite healthily. Now his breakfast consists of crackers with full fat butter, his dinner will be a burger, fries, crisps, chocolate, cup cakes, anything he can get his hands on really! Same for tea then he eats chocolate and crisps before he goes to bed! He wont eat healthy cooked meals because he says he isn't hungry then is allowed to eat crap for the rest of the day.

My way of thinking would be if he isn't hungry enough to eat his healthy meal, then he should be hungry enough to eat the rubbish!

DH and BM just dont seem to want to say or do anything though. BM crams his packed lunch box full of crisps and chocolate and DH just lets him eat what he wants! I want to get a trampoline for him to play on to help with a bit of exercise, but DH would quite happily let him continue playing his computer games!

Im really worried about him. He is quite overweight for his age and people are starting to tell him that he is getting fat (his nan (BMs Mum) and his 20 year old brother). He keeps asking me if I think he is fat because people keep telling him he is, of course I say he isn't but say if you are worried about it then why dont you try cutting out a bit of the chocolate you eat and start doing a bit more outdoor activity.

He starts big school in September and I would hate for him to start getting picked on because he is larger than other kids his age. He doesn't deal with mickey taking very well!

TREBUCHET · 30/06/2008 13:16

Why should you be embarrassed that he couldn't fit into his own age clothes? It seems to me that this is all about you, you, you, not the poor kid. After all you managed to lose weight, why shouldn't he? I have often found that people who were overweight become harsh to others once they have lost weight themselves.

Speaking as an overweight child myself, I ate because something was missing in my life. Try treating him with tenderness and compassion rather than disdain and he may no longer feel the need to eat to excess.

controlfreakyagain · 01/07/2008 21:13

what iis it with you step parents and your horrible terminology "BM" malibugirl? "birth mother"? he only has one mother (unless you've adopted him?) and she is his "mother". what is so hard about that??

Malibugirl · 02/07/2008 07:48

Controlfreakyagain. Im sorry you dont agree with the abbreviation "BM"! If you read my post, you will see that I am new to this site and I saw that everyone else seems to use these "acronyms" so I was just trying to blend in. I will in future say "mother" not BM. Theres Really no need to be quite so rude about it is there?. Can I just ask? With reference to your "what is it with you step parents" comment, are you actually a step parent yourself?

BouncingTurtle · 02/07/2008 08:03

Malibugirl - it's because stepparents are evil nasty people who just want to make their stepkids lives a misery
I'm a Stepmum and a Stepdaughter btw. Oh and I also hate the term "Birth Mother" in this context, it should only be used by adoptive parents when talking about the woman who gave birth to their adopted child.
Use DH/P's ex or DSC's mum (I prefer the latter).
However this could have be pointed out to you a bit more politely especially as you are new to the site.
Trebuschet - The OP has come across as generally caring and worried about her dss and appears to be on the same wave length as his mum. You are being unnecessarily harsh and your perceptions are being coloured by your unhappy childhood (I sympathise, as you basically described me growing up).

wkdstepmother · 14/12/2009 15:16

Similarly, my SS is aged 12 and weighs about 12.5 stone.
He seems to be constantly 'growing' also.
When he is with us, we always make sure he eats well as we know for sure, BM feeds him a whole load of junk, Pot Noodles, fizzy pop etc.

I believe BM has tried to put him on a 'diet' (probably the worst thing you can do to a child, to give them a complex about their weight...believe me, I was 7 stone at his age and my mother sent me to Weight Watchers with her!!!)
but, the 'diet' only lasted a couple of days. BM obv didn't stick to it herself. When I pick up SS from BM's, his clothes always smell of chip fat (bleurgh), when I iron his clothes that he brings from home, the smell of chips comes through onto the iron/ironing board (their washing machine must be next to the deep fat fryer in their house).

My OH knows that his son is overweight, but makes excuses for him, saying that he was the same at his age (he was), but the difference is, OH was an active teenager, out playing football and what not.
SS won't go out of the front door, despite me trying so hard to get him to do anything other than playing flamin computer games and X Box!
I can only guess that's because BM mollycoddles him to the extreme, he doesn't seem to have many friends, he doesn't play out, he's been in trouble at school for fighting, because, he lashed out at another kid who called him 'fat'...

So blaaddy hard as a SM to try and encourage the little darlings to eat healthily when at home (the main home) they are fed on rubbish and postively encouraged to be lazy. I am just so concerned at the damage BM is doing to him.

But, as we all know SM's can't do a damn thing, as they go crying to mummy that they are being 'picked on' and 'shouted at'.
For instance, SS has found a habit of sneaking chocolate and biscuits out of the cupboard (Despite me hiding them). I have to admit, I laid a trap, and he failed. Each time he went to the cereal cupboard to get his breakfast, he would sneak a few chocolate biscuits at the same time while we're not looking.
That's because someone has obviously told him (i.e. BM) that it's ok to eat biscuits for breakfast! (grrr!!!)
When I challenged him, of course he went off and sulked. Thankfully Dad did go and speak to him to ask why "I only had 2" (actually it was the whole packet of expensive choc biccies over a period of 3 weekends) and was he eating in secret (a concern I raised immediately).

It's a constant battle to get him to even go to the park in the nice weather (20 minute walk and he complains that he's tired!).

I pray that he overcomes his laziness and joins in outdoor type activity. He has a trampoline that Dad bought him, but he won't use it now as "there's bird poo on it" (too lazy to clean it off as is, clearly, BM).

What do you do when the birth parents are lazy! I'm the one who wants to encourage him to do sports, to go out and see the world, to lose weight, to eat properly (no fat coke = sulk...he doesn't win though!).

(Now then I best go and introduce myself to this board properly...I have to say it's very reassuring to see many other SM's are in the same boat as me on a large number of issues!)

TisTheSeasonToBeHully · 14/12/2009 15:25

He is grossly overweight. Take all the emotion out of it (you lost weight, dh overweight, he's a dss) and deal solely with the health issue. Refuse to be drawn into arguments and calmly keep stating the obvious until everyone is in agreement on necessary changes. Poor kid must be suffering.

mmrred · 15/12/2009 21:07

I think it is a great shame that caring adults can't raise an issue about a child's welfare and ask for advice on how to deal with it (and on a step-parent forum) without being insulted about the words they choose. MN is famous for the abbreviations and there was absolutely nothing in the OP that even hinted of disrespect to the mother of the child.

Personally, I'm not mad keen on the term 'step parent' - but there are enough chips on this thread without us all having them on our shoulders because we feel our roles are somehow compromised because of people's words for them! A rose by any other name, ladies!

My DSS has to deal with massive food issues at home, and my DH fell into the trap of trying to spoil him or make up for it when he is with us, particularly when we were able to feed him ourselves...and we had a few rows about it before DH admitted he was wrongwe got it sorted. I agree with Tistheseason, keep the emotion out of it, be supportive. If DH is concerned about his weight, enlist the help of DSS to get him to lose weight, could be something they do together? Ask DH if he wished someone had helped him with weight issues when he was younger, perhaps?

mmrred · 15/12/2009 21:08

Why can't I do that strike out thing?

Ivykaty44 · 15/12/2009 21:19

malibugirl - take no notice I am a bm and am happy to be called that their sm's don't mind either

Ivykaty44 · 15/12/2009 21:20

op - yanbu

how you tackle such a problem I don't know

I do wonder if your dh is jealous of your weight problem getting better and leaving hims behind

BigHairyLeggedReindeer · 17/12/2009 22:11

Can I just make a point about the term birth mother? It's not the same as the horrible term babymother, which is horrible. It's a term used to differentiate between stepmother and mother who gave birth to the child. I am mother to my stepchildren when they are with me. Their mother is their biological mother. When they talk about me they call me their mum when they are with me, and stepmum when refering to me. I refer to their mother as their mother, unless I am talking specifically about step-parenting, in which case I refer to her as their birth mother.

I am no less a mother to my boys because I didn't give them life, regardless of what natural mothers may feel. Birth mother is just a term, normally used by step-parents. If you don't like it, don't use it. But don't damn others for using it.

BigHairyLeggedReindeer · 17/12/2009 22:17

And what's with the "you step parents" comment. We CHOOSE to be with these children and have an input into their lives. We CAN walk away when things get tough, unlike you BIRTHMOTHERS, but we don't. We stay. And do the often thankless task of raising YOUR children, part time or full time, bearing the brunt of the fall out between you and your ex menfolk, repairing damage, wiping tears, being the Wicked Stepmum because what child wouldnt at heart want their parents back together, even if they love us dearly, we know thats what they'd really like, even if they know it's not possible.

We compromise our lives for your children. We take them to our hearts and are there for them. We deal with the same shit you do, and it's twice as hard for us because we don't have the biological link you do. And still we stay because we've made that choice.

My boys have two mothers. Get over it.