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Step-parenting

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Am i so wrong? and why does he get so arsey???

34 replies

TheLadyEvenstar · 26/11/2008 23:19

DP has 2 children from a previous relationship, I have 1 from a previous relationship and we have one together.

My 2 ds's live with us and his ds's live with their mum....well eldest (23) lives with his g'f.
Dp's ds2 is 14yrs old and up until last year when i was pg with my ds2 every 4-6 weeks she was asking us for £50 for school shoes for dss. Then after us buying them it would be shirts the next week trousers the week after and so on.

I had to put my foot down and the next time she asked for money for shoes I took dss to the local market and spent £10 on 2 pairs, they were leather and good shoes... when she asked for shirts i went to primark and bought them... Oddly enough the demands requests for money stopped. Dp paid £100 a month (until he was made redundant) which is what he and I agreed we could afford.

She did try and ask us to pay for his school trip which apparently was £600, she called me and asked I simply explained we couldn't afford it with dp out of work and us moving.

When we moved dss came to visit a month later as it was ds2's 1st b'day. When he came in he asked

"did you buy this or are you renting"
"renting"
immediately sent a txt message
"Oh when did you get that" (ps3)
"I bought it last week"
Another txt sent
"Oh K has a new bed"
"Yes he needed one"
another txt....i think you get the picture. When he went in the other room dp checked his phone he had been texting his mum and telling her everything. Three days later she called and asked wether we could give her £250 for her to buy him clothes for an upcoming holiday....errr no we are living on a budget....yes we bought a ps3 as a gift for ourselves after the bad yr of dp being made redundant.....other than that it is penny pinching. Her reply but you all have new beds and you have a ps3, and blah blah blah.....

It has now been over 2 months since dp has heard from dss except one occassion when we went there to talk to his mother. But you can bet your bottom dollar that dss will be in touch soon xmas is round the corner, and he wants a new guitar. Which we are not getting.

Now I don't have a problem with dss in anyway other than the fact he treats dp so badly. Its like unless there is money involved he doesn't make contact. I have set a £50 limit on each ds this year....now dp is being arsey and saying we should get dss what he wants....hmmmm he is still out of work we have a very limited income and the guitar he wants is £250. Am i so wrong to think that dp and ds need to both realise that they cannot have a relationship made out of possessions. Dp is excellent with our 2 ds's but when dss is around he barely talks to him and vice versa. I did discuss this on here before but on another part now I want to get advice from others in my situation.

Dss is a liar and will say one thing to me and 2 minutes later say something different to dp, which invariably causes hassle....he did this at ds2's 1st b'day party but a friend of mine was standing there and heard what he said to me...she backed me up.

Do i give in and get this blasted guitar? do i stick to my guns and get the £50 voucher/present the same as for my ds1 and ds2? I really don't believe in spending more on one than the others and i don't see why we should skint ourselves for a child who is ungrateful we bought him a guitar last xmas and he now wants a different one although the one we bought him is fine....he just wants a diff colour.

OP posts:
crokky · 26/11/2008 23:31

I don't know the answer, but all I can say is that DSS is a 14 year old child who is stuck in the middle of these problems. Probably you don't have much money and neither does DSS's mother so it's just difficult all round. I'm not sure how much a 14 year old would really know about money - they don't pay gas bills etc etc and they don't earn money either. It's one thing to be told about managing incomings and outgoings, but quite another to actually have to do it. I don't have stepchildren, but I am a stepchild myself. Can you eBay the old guitar in order to part finance the new one?

mabanana · 26/11/2008 23:34

No to £250 guitar. It's ridiculous.

crokky · 26/11/2008 23:37

I didn't quite take in that the new guitar was as much as £250 as that really is a lot. Why don't you suggest splitting the bill for it with DSS's mum AND eBaying the old one to get the new one.

TheLadyEvenstar · 26/11/2008 23:39

Crokky he wants to keep the old one and have a new one. We are tight on finances atm due to circumstances (fingers x'd as dp has an interview tomoz) on the other hand dss and his mum have jut come back from a 3 week holiday in portugal...but we weren't allowed to take him out of school for a weeks holiday?????

Yes he is a child but I know my ds1 (10) understands the concept of finances as i have brought him up to know...

OP posts:
moondog · 26/11/2008 23:40

He only paid £100 a month towards his two children????

That's £12.50 each a week. A bit less.

TheLadyEvenstar · 26/11/2008 23:42

Crokky we tried that last year and she was not open to it, she didn't want him having a joint present from us all.

It is difficult all round and it is stressing me out as much as i love him I can't justify spending that amount on him when A) there is nothing wrong with his guitar and B) we are not spending that on our other 2 ds's

OP posts:
TheLadyEvenstar · 26/11/2008 23:42

Moon, dp's ds1 is a grown man.

OP posts:
BitOfFun · 26/11/2008 23:42

I would stick to your guns- it's very unfair unless all the kids get the same, which you cant afford.

moondog · 26/11/2008 23:43

£25 a week then for one kid.
I still can't believe it, I really can't.

TheLadyEvenstar · 26/11/2008 23:43

ds1 is 24 sorry not 23. working living with g'f.... he was 18 when dp and ex-p split up after 22yrs.

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TheLadyEvenstar · 26/11/2008 23:45

Moon his mother agreed it, she could have said no, because although we did agree we could only afford £100 he did offer £150 but she said £100 would be fine.

OP posts:
moondog · 26/11/2008 23:47

I best not reply.
It is unprintable.

TheLadyEvenstar · 26/11/2008 23:56

Moon, we have a baby, we have 3 children in all and we cannot in anyway afford to pay more than that. ATM we cannot afford to pay anything, we are struggling ourselves. DP has been trying to get a job and has an interview tomorrow. When he is back in employment then of course we will start paying again...however she can afford to swan off on a holiday for 3 weeks she cannot be that strapped for cash that she has to demand money from us when she knows how tight things are for us. Hell I have started making ds2's nappies as it is cheaper, I am selling everything i can possibly sell including my ds1's guitar we bought him for xmas last year and he is only 10 and understands. , what more can we do?

OP posts:
theramones · 27/11/2008 00:03

Ladyevenstar .. I am confused has your husband sired 4 sons; or three?

TheLadyEvenstar · 27/11/2008 00:05

Thera,
there are 4 sons, 3 biologically his but all 4 are his sons. 1 of them is mine from a previous relationship. He classes and treats all 4 the same. my ds1 has no contact with his father and hasn't other than one or two calls in the last 4 yrs. so dp is every bit the daddy to him

OP posts:
scaredoflove · 27/11/2008 00:07

my exh gives me £90 a week for 4!! Moondog, it depends on the exh income. For my exh £90 is 25% of his net pay

I would treat all the children the same, a limit of £50 for all is fair

goodasgold · 27/11/2008 00:12

Does your eldest son's father contribute to him?

theramones · 27/11/2008 00:14

Well surely if your husband has taken your boy on (which he didn't have too) then you should reciprocate.

TheLadyEvenstar · 27/11/2008 00:18

Good, he never has and never will.

Thera, I have taken him on but he has no contact until he wants something. Why should I spend more on him than my own children we agreed £50 and it is all we can afford.

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zazen · 27/11/2008 00:20

Your DSS is a 23 year old grown man living with his gf, no? Let him work to buy his second guitar.

you sound like you are doing your best. i hope your dp gets a job soon - it's stressful enough with xmas round the corner to be worrying about money and jobs etc.

A limit of 50 per child is fairer than 250 for one which will leave you skint.
Explain this to the adult son of your DP. I'm sure he doesn't want to cause distress, and if he is selfishly holding out for 'his second guitar', get him a pair of socks.

TheLadyEvenstar · 27/11/2008 00:23

Zazen, dss2 is 14 almost 15, dss1 is 24. it is dss2 who wants the second guitar....he told us dss1 and his mum were buying him a ps3 for xmas and a new ipod as well as other things, and that he wanted the guitar from us. We Just cannot afford it.

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ElenorRigby · 27/11/2008 18:52

Your DP needs put his foot down and get real.
He cannot buy the love of his child.
He has to stop trying to buy his affection.
His mother has clearly set dad up as a cash cow.
It has to stop, for the benefit of all concerned in this case.

TheLadyEvenstar · 27/11/2008 20:15

Elenor, it is not so much buying his affection as much as it is we daren't do anything that may upset him as he has issues and when he is told no or upset he deliberatly messes himself.

Anyway DP went for his interview today when he cam eback with good news, I asked him to phone dss and find out what he wants for xmas. DP replied, he will get £50 voucher or cash he can buy what he wants with it I am not pandering to it anymore.

OP posts:
zazen · 28/11/2008 11:46

Oh that's great news evenstar, well done. sounds like things are on the turn for you for the better, and that voucher idea will help DSS2 to budget for his own guitar / object of desire, which will empower him more than just giving him the final product.

"deliberate messes himself" doesn't sound good, at 14?
And sorry if this sounds facetious, but my feeling is that this will stop when he finds out girls don't like smelly boys.

I still think even with the threat of him messing himself, that a voucher to help him save up for what he wants will be better for him and you - win win.

Freckle · 28/11/2008 12:08

I'm glad your dp has a new job. It will make life a lot easier all round.

Do bear in mind that your ds1 lives with you and will be aware of what the financial situation is like. You can explain matters to him and he is old enough to understand financial constraints. Dss2 lives with his mum and she may well be feeding him lines about how his dad has money, etc. So, to him, you are being mean if you don't buy him the guitar. You can explain finances, but who is he going to believe - you or his mum? I still think you should stick to the £50 per child, but it might help to understand why Dss2 sees his dad as a cash cow. It's probably coming from the mum.

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