Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

15 year old going to get herself killed

281 replies

attheedge · 23/10/2006 19:45

I have been married for 4 years, I have a 15 year old DD to my previous marriage and a 3 year old DD to my current husband.

My 15 year old is driving us all mad, she is rude, ignorant, bitchy and just horrible to live with. She has just been suspended from school and they are now deciding whether to permanently exclude her. Apparantly she was trespassing on the nearby university, something she and her friends do often and have been repeatedly warned about, this time however she was attacked by a German Shepherd guard dog. The dog?s handler said that she was throwing stones at it and that?s how it came so out of control and broke free from him, her and her friends have said that as soon as he saw them he shouted at them to get off the uni property, they shouted something back and he threw the dog?s lead to the floor allowing it to attack my DD biting her arm and wrecking her school bag. The security firm made a complaint to the school and the school believe their version of events over the kids. Personally I could not imagine my DD throwing stones at a dog, she is mad on animals and does voluntary work for the RSPCA!

Aside from this she is constantly in trouble at school, she is cheeky to the teachers, walks out of lessons, drew Nazi signs all over her German work and the final straw came when she caught someone stealing from her bag, she informed the school (apparently!) and they did nothing so she took herself down to the local police station and made a formal complaint, this resulted in the police turning up at the school and the teachers becoming livid.

She is constantly putting herself in danger, just a few months ago she told me she was staying at a friends house all night, turns out her friend had said the same to her mum and they had decided to ?live rough? for the night on the streets to ?see what it was like?. She did the same thing a few weeks ago only this time she travelled to a completely different city 200 miles away via train and told her accompanying friend that they had somewhere to stay when they got there?.obviously they didn?t and ended up on the streets again all night, she loved it, her friend was mortified as was his mother.

I now know she is smoking cannabis and taking speed, she is going out drinking 3-4 times a week coming in drunk early hours of the morning, trying to get her friends (and sometimes trick them) into doing stupid, dangerous things? what is wrong with her??

She lost her father unexpectedly 4 years ago and in that time I have re-married and had a baby, I know this is a lot for any teen/child to deal with but I?m worried about what will happen to her.

OP posts:
LittleWonder · 24/10/2006 21:27

Please, please, please take her to your sisters, Will you?

Your sister is right. I know you don't get on, but she may save your daughter's life. Just do it.

expatinscotland · 24/10/2006 21:28

Why am I beginning to think this is a wind up?

mummisery · 24/10/2006 21:33

Attheedge i think that your whole familt should go to mediation and you need to give dd1 lots of love and time.

I talk from experience i have a dd of 14 who has many problems she also has lost someone very close to her. Your dd may still be grief stricken and angry and her father has been replaced by someone who doesnt seem to care about her. If he has always been like that towards her i personally would never have married him you came as a package and if he cant except that you shouldnt be together.

I would be over the moon if my dd would take up something like Karati and i would move heaven and earth to go fetch her and i have no partner and a young son its what you do for your children its part of being a parent no matter how hard you work or how tired you are.

Being a parent is not easy but you really need to take a look at yourself and tell your DH to stop getting at your dd and if he had been violent to my dd i would have got in his face and believe me i know what im talking about.

Get a back bone and support your dd she needs you

Rhubarb · 24/10/2006 22:15

Everyone tells you how awful she is eh? Poor girl! The best thing she can do is to get out of that situation, to get away from you and your shithead of a dh. It is obvious to me that you put him before her. How can you sit back and watch as someone emotionally abuses your child? I'll bet he is as nice as pie to his own daughter isn't he? I'll bet everyone says how wonderful she is, how good, how lovely etc. My mother sat back and watched as my stepdad was cruel to me, everyone turned a blind eye, everyone had an opinion about me, everyone had a label for me. I nearly went off the rails because of the way I was treated. I had no confidence, I thought I was shit, that I didn't deserve friends, that I was unlovable. Luckily I had a sister who did love me, who would take time out for me, who looked after me, your daughter doesn't even have this (I won't call her your dd because I don't think she is dear to you).

I hope this thread has made you think. You have been listening to other people telling you how to treat your daughter, how to feel towards your daughter and you have listened to them and neglected your child. You are just as guilty of emotional abuse. If I knew who you were I would report you.

But I think you will get your punishment later on in life. What goes around comes around. I hope your dh gets what is coming to him too, what a lowlife piece of shit he is!

I gotta get off this thread because you are quite frankly making me feel sick.

suedonim · 24/10/2006 22:36

Attheedge, I've only read this thread but something you said earlier jumped out at me immediately. You said you think your daughter hates you. She doesn't hate you, she loves you. Imo all this behaviour is an attempt to gain your attention on the one hand but at the same time, because you appear not to care for her, she's trying to act big to prove to herself that she doesn't need you anymore.

You also said that the pair of you have good times until your dh comes in. So all is not lost with her. Your dh needs to grow up and, at this stage, butt out of the relationship between mother and daughter. If he really cared for you he'd care for your dd as well. Don't talk with her about other family members, that's a recipe for disaster and you're giving her a stick with which to beat you.

On practical terms, I think you should begin by bringing some order into your lives. Stop giving dd money for drink etc. Think about giving her a small weekly allowance rather than just buying things for her, so she can take responsibilty for her money and possessions. Write down what the allowance is to cover and explain that if it all goes on drink there's no more until the next instalment. But don't dock it for perceived misdemeanours - have some trust in her and let her know that despite what she does you still love her. Spend some time with her. Instead of buying a pizza and watching a dvd why not make the pizza yourselves? It's cheap and easy and if you've never done it before you're both on a learning curve. Sort something out about karate - if there's someone else in the next road attending, try lift sharing or walking home together. Or walk there yourself to get her.

I think you either need to modernise or swap your dd's room - to not have heating in this day and age is Dickensian. Brighten her room up with some new wallpaper (cheap in a sale) or paint is cheap enough. Put up some posters, a few cushions etc. Woolies, Primark, Internacionale all have inexpensive trendy stuff. Make your dd feel as though she is wanted even if you find it hard to want her atm.

She sounds like a bright girl, to me, as she's certainly capable of thinking up lots of mischief. Encourage her to think of her future, to aim for something higher, not just leave school at 16 and get a job. As she's interested in animals maybe find out about being a vet-nurse, perhaps, or a dog groomer or animal behaviour therapist or even a vet. Don't let her life slide away like this, she has potential to do something in life and you have the ability to help make it happen.

suedonim · 24/10/2006 22:40

Btw, I have/had three teenagers so I do know something of their little ways.

VoodooBanana · 24/10/2006 22:44

suedonim that was fantastic advice.

generaldogsbody1 · 24/10/2006 22:46

My teenage DSD is in a simelar situation to yours ATE. she is 16yo now and I'm waiting for the call to say that her BM has found an excuse to chuck her out,

Unfortunately I am at the point where we cannot take her in full time. She is now at the stage where she is not just a risk to herself but to others too, I have two los and an other on the way.

All my DSD has craved and created for is some attention and love from her mother, I have banged my head against a brick wall for three years trying to get it through to both her parents that with love, consistancy, understanding and ground rules they may get their daughter back.

her BM has not changed at all, now has a new DD to mess up and a baby sitter pissed or wasted to call on when ever it suites her ( i kid you not )

My dp can now see why his daughter is the way she is and admits his responsibility towards it iyswim. As a result we are still together. I would NEVER allow any one, parent or not, to mess my children up.

We opperate as a team in this household and as such we are now getting to a stage where DSD can be with us for 3 nights of the week. But only on the understanding that she respects the house rules that apply to anyone who lives under this roof.

We have not reached this stage alone, a whole lot of help came through SS,GP and other agencies.

I feels so sorry for my DSD, and her BM, they will prob never understand what a relationship is far less what they have missed out on.

DSD will not be abandonded by me or her DDad, the situation has gone beyond what we can deal with. DSD understands this, other fallbacks have been put in place (I hope to god we never have to put the plan into action) but we will if nessesary.

We will stand by her regardless. And support her to the best of our abilities.

Good luck to you and your DD. Please take a step back from the situation and try to see what is going on under your very nose.

HauntedsandCastle · 25/10/2006 01:19

Ok, due to time differences I couldn?t post last night. I have had a long read of all the posts and here is what I may have said last night?..LONG!!!

?Could you please tell me what I am doing that is so bad?

You?re letting this happen?.

?Her karate friend is a 15 year old boy who would've been quite safe walking home on his own, I wouldn't mind but she dislikes the kid anyway?

Well, you ever thought that maybe your dd was thinking she would get a lecture or yelled at in the car, so the friend was there as she was hoping your dh wouldn?t ?act up? in front of her friend?

?If we all went to the cinema there would be a row about which film we went to see, she wouldn't sit through a kids film for example and I couldn't expect DD2 to sit through "Saw 3" for example?

So what?s wrong with you taking dd1 to see something, while dh takes dd2 to see something? Meet up afterwards for dinner.

?A few months ago a big heavy metal band was toruing England and her penpal (who lives 200 miles away in Newcastle) had two tickets and asked if she would go, I said she could and then got slagged off by all the family (especially my mother) for being so 'careless' and so ended up saying she couldnt go afterall and she was gutted. It just seems that I mess everything up no matter what I do?

Another big promise you broke, on the say so of others.

?She doesnt make "girl" friends, all her friends are boys for some reason, including the penpal which is why I didnt let her go in the end. Plus knowing her she would've ended up sleeping on the streets?

I think Expat is partly right here, tho I hate to think so. But if she isn?t sleeping with them, I would think she is looking for the male attention she misses from her dad.

?I would spend my last £ to buy her a mazagine she wanted. Now if she decides she doesnt want what we're eating she gets money for a takeaway for herself, she gets money for DVD's, clothes and anything else she wants?

The only thing you haven?t mentioned giving her is your time, that?s priceless.

?I was really upset when DD2 was born..when she was about a year old DD1 asked if she could take her out to the shops or to the park, my mother said she would never trust her with DD2 and I would be mad to let her so I never did and DD1 has been horrible to her ever since?

Maybe she was too young to be trusted by her self with dd2. BUT you listened to your mother (again) without trying to find an alternative. Maybe you could have said ?well dd1 is a bit too young to be going to the park (I know it?s prob bollox, but YOU need to think of ways to spare her feelings), how about you push her around iin the garden while I do some housework? or lets take her to the shops together & you can push her all the way?

?I think she hates me and DH is constaly in the background moaning.

You know what? Maybe she does ?think? she hates you. The hardest thing I ever heard was from my 14 yr old god daughter, she said ?sandcastles, I really hate her (her mum) I really really hate her, I can?t wait to leave home? You know what, she DID really hate her, you could see it , but the same level of emotional neglect. That girl has left home (did in 2005, just turned 17) She is only just starting to speak to her mum, a year on. Breaks my heart that the mum couldn?t see what was happening, didn?t trust her friends enough to listen.

?When me and DD1 have a row she will usually come and apologise and DH then starts on saying "yeah she gets around you with the water works and the "sorry mum (said in a whingy voice)"

So, she is being a bigger person and saying sorry, trying to recify what she has done/said. STILL she gets belittled for it! How dare your dh do this? Making her feel that her apology isn?t worth shit! And of course tries to get around you with tears, she?s a child, that?s what they do!

?We tried the jobs for money but they were never upto DH's standads?

Speaks volumns (sp) she is trying trying trying?.she?s 15, not a lot will be upto an adults standards, but you have to acknowledge the effort!

?She would do the washing up but wouldnt wipe the side down, when he told her to wipe the side down she did but didnt dry it, when he moaned about that she turned around and said "do it yourself" and threw the cloth at him. so that was that one gone?

You know what? You should see my kitchen when I?ve washed up! Bloody water everywhere, and I?m 33! She tried, she did what you asked, but still he finds fault! That would make me throw a cloth at someone too!

?She washed his car for him, came in freezing and then he moaned because it was streaky, its all more hassle than its worth?

So he says ?that?s great, thank you. Saved me a job? Then when she?s out he goes and gets rid of the streaks.

?apart from one time she cleaned the over for no reason at all?

To show you that she can, that she?s willing. ?look what I did for you mum? . So you say ?thank you, I?d been dreading doing that!?

I remember I did the ironing for my mum once. I did as best I could, and I did a bloody good job, I can tell you! She threw all the ironing on her bed, literally tipped it out of the basket, and said ?no, not good enough, now I?ll have to wash it and start again? I kid you not! And she did! Did I ever iron again, yep, I had too, had no choice. But not to her standards, it was just a quick rub over, knowing that it wouldn?t bee good enough. (have you seen earlier in this thread that I left home at 18 and haven?t spoken to her since, I?m 33 now!)

?Something still sticks in my head, about a year ago DH had a crash at work, he came home and cried in the kitchen, he thought he was going to lose his job. DD1 came in, took one look at him and asked if he was ok, telling him it wasnt his fault and that he would be ok?

She was trying to show you that she understands he has feelings, she saw he was vulnerable and responded how you should. She has proved herself here, while he takes the mick out of her crying, she has sympathy for him & his feelings.

You doubt her intentions at every turn, you/your dh pick faults when she tries to help. She saying to you ?look, I will do it, I can do it? when what she is hoping you will do is say ?thank you? give her a hug, say ?well done?. Every time we try & post something helpful, or try & help you see the good in her, you come back with something that you hope will have us all saying ?poor you? etc.

I can?t find the part where your dh said she could leave at 16. My mums 3rd dh told me when I left the house at 18, that I was no longer part of HIS family (did he not realise that it was my family, HE had walked into?). Ok, fine that hurt, but you know what hurt more? Mum let him say it, and agreed with him! That hurt more than his excluding me, why do you think that was?

How is she expected to know that you love her, when I can see little evidence of it on here?

HauntedsandCastle · 25/10/2006 01:21

Before I even read about it on the bathroom/bedroom thread, I KNEW you had given that room to her. What else do you have to do to try & push her away?

AlfredAitchcock · 25/10/2006 02:13

god, attheedge... this is deadly serious. you know, because you've already said so in your OP, that she's in terrible danger here.
i mean, plainly she's already damaged and vulnerable, but she's getting older now, she'll get away from you soon enough. why is a child going out to sleep on the streets if not in preparation for running away, even if she has nowhere to run to?

Poor girl... her grandmother is an undermining cow, her dad is dead, her mum is a bystander in her life, her sister is the favoured one and her stepdad is a bully who detests her.

I know that it seems like everyone is having a go, and that we are all having a bit of a hug-in, but i promise you that in all the examples you gave of her terrible behaviour, she actually sounded like quite a good, brave girl. and pretty normal for a teenager.

i hope that you are capable of taking the advice you've received here. your daughter is being abused by your dh (are you scared of him, by the way? why can't you be more forceful with him? i haven't read the other thread) and unless you stick up for her she will, if she's lucky, have a shit life. if she's unlucky... well, your OP says it all...

zippitippitoes · 25/10/2006 08:25

I hope you can take the good advice on this thread

I know there are some harsh views too, but I think when you see what you have writteen probably the light is dawning if it hadn't already

For us it jumps out, but that is because really you've done the editing of your life yourself so that we can see it

So really you know what is wrong with you and dh parenting or lack of

The hard part is turning things round..I think you need help to do that

And as I say I haven't read the other thread but your dh sounds like a classic bully even the way you describe this

"She would do the washing up but wouldnt wipe the side down, when he told her to wipe the side down she did but didnt dry it, when he moaned about that she turned around and said "do it yourself" and threw the cloth at him. so that was that one gone?

Don't let him drag you down and suggest he needs anger management and counselling too, whether it will work is another matter

KTeepee · 25/10/2006 08:26

I am almost in tears after reading that thing about the bedroom/bathroom.

How can you let him treat your daughter like that?

piglit · 25/10/2006 08:48

Expat - why do you think this is a wind up? I really really hope it's not but you are often right about these things....

NotActuallyAMum · 25/10/2006 08:55

I've followed this from the start and have lost count of the number of times I've typed a post then deleted it...

attheedge I know how difficult it is to take on a teenager who isn't yours when you have no children - I've done it myself. But your DHs attitude is, well, erm, I really don't know what words to use

You have described 2 or 3 times where your dd has showed genuine concern for your DH - like the car accident/losing his job incident. Do these incidents not make everything worthwhile for him? Obviously not! But why? My dsd is 13.8, she's lived with us for 6 months and I could already write a book on the things she's done/said etc. - including one time where she threw an absolute paddy at me, kicked me so hard I had a 3 inch bruise on my shin, told me to get stuffed, called me a fat ugly cow + other things. I could go on. But the odd time when she gives me a hug and says thank you for taking her swimming/lending her my make-up/helping with her homework puts a big smile on my face and almost makes me forget the bad times

attheedge, please read wanneBe1974's post from yesterday at 5:49pm. Then when you've read it, read it again. And again. And again. Make the two of them spend some time alone - tell them both they have no choice. Doing this made a huge difference to my relationship with my dsd

Freckle · 25/10/2006 09:03

Personally, given your dh's behaviour and that of his parents, it might be better if he went back to live with his parents as he is clearly incapable of behaving like an adult in his own home.

Your daughter's attitude towards him is far more mature than his towards her and his parents seem to be encouraging this divisiveness with their blatant dislike of your daughter and favouritism of their granddaughter. Does your dd1 have any other grandparents? Where are her dad's parents?

I think, at his age, it is probably too late to expect him to behave like a mature adult and so you would be better off with just your two dds.

Schokofruhstucksflockenhasseri · 25/10/2006 09:09

I dont think its a wind up. I really feel for both attheedge and her dd1.

attheedge, it does sound as though you let other people boss you around, not always to the benefit of your dd. It is hard to assert yourself when you arent used to doing it, but you MUST, for the sake of your dd. The bedroom thing is shocking. My parents did something similar, not so extreme and I still havent forgiven them. It is blatant favouritism, and dont expect her to see it any other way.
Parents of teenagers have to be taxi-drivers, it comes with the job! You have to learn to drive, or your dh has to pick her up, its as simple as that.

Really hope you can solve your situation. There is lots to think about on this thread.
By the way, your responses on this thread show that you can take criticism - but can you decide what you think is right for your dd1, and then reject criticism from others (your family, your dh)?

I think your dd1 sounds very courageous btw. I wouldnt have had the nerve to do half those things when I was an easily bullied 15 year old!

WelshBoris · 25/10/2006 09:10

I really hope she listens to the advice given

harpsichordcarrion · 25/10/2006 09:14

my god this thread has upset me. what a horrible horrible situation you have put your daughter in.
I can't possibly add to the advice given here in any constructive way, but I just wanted to say that whatever changes you make now, don't expect your daughter to be grateful and suddenly turn into the dutiful daughter of your and your dh's imagination. she has been damaged by her experiences and the best you can hope for is that she will end up forgiving you, but I doubt that will be for years yet.
my friend's mother let her new husband bully her daughter (my friend) like this. after years of misery at sixteen her step father threw her out (sound familiar?) and she went to live with her auntie. she now calls her auntie "mum" and her mum "that weak woman". she didn't talk to her mother for about seventeen years. even now (after lots of therapy paid for by her wonderful husband) she can hardly brig herself to be civil to her birth mother. she had to be persuaded to invite her to her wedding. the scars run very deep and have had a knock on effect on her relationships, including with her own children.
god what a f up. i really hope you can sort it out, for her sake.

Pixiefish · 25/10/2006 09:16

I also have nothing to add but I do hope you can sort it out with your daughter.
Echo wat others have said in that I would never be able to live with/love/ sleep with a man who hurt my dd

zippitippitoes · 25/10/2006 09:18

but don't be discouraged, if you put your all in to changing things then she will love you in return I'm sure of it..she is trying now you need to before she does give up for good

expatinscotland · 25/10/2006 09:21

I'm sort of thinking it might be a wind up b/c the OP has two threads running on this, and she/he keeps throwing out worse and worse scenarios on both - the bathroom as bedroom on this one, and several others on another.

I really hope it's a wind up.

B/c otherwise it's so far beyond disgusting it makes me want to hurl.

And if it is a wind up, there're some really messed up people out there.

colditz · 25/10/2006 09:25

Just to add - if, when I was 15, my mother had said "I want you in at 9 because I love you, miss you and worry about you"

I probably wouldn't have gone out in the first place.

But she didn't. she said "If you don't get in by 9 you are grounded, I don't want people seeing you with those druggie mates of yours."

Basically, she wanted me in at 9, but why did she hve to be such a bitch about it?

harpsichordcarrion · 25/10/2006 09:26

I don't know expat, I can see where you are coming from but this is not an unusual scenario tbh, where a weak mother allows a situation like this to develop. men can be c**ts and some women seem to let them.
god I am so angry.

CreepyCrawlyCarmenere · 25/10/2006 09:29

No this smacks of being true, my own dss has been treated like a piece of shit by his mother because she is scared of losing the wanker she calls her dp

Swipe left for the next trending thread