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.

Teenage DD and Boyfriend - HELP!

42 replies

arrrrghhwinehelpswithteens · 10/09/2016 19:39

So, my DD is 14 (she will be 15 in a little over a month). I've name changed for this just in case.

Anyway, she has been seeing her current boyfriend for a little over 8 months. He is a year older. They met through ATC and are in the same school. So far, he has ended the relationship at least three times, each time begging her to go back out with him whenever she seems to be moving on. Throughout their on/off relationships, he has insisted that she go to his place (a short bus / parental taxi ride away) and will not come up to our house.

The last time this happened, her father and I (after mopping up the tears and applying the accepted remedy of Ben & Jerry's ice cream) said that we would not be happy if she took him back again, as he is not treating her with respect and is expecting her to do all the running. Of course, the expected happened and he begged her so she said yes.

We didn't find this out to begin with - she was staying with her best friend (across from ours) for a week long birthday party / couple of day trips with early starts and a couple of paid jobs with best friend's mum. Over coffee with said mum, turns out that not only the girls were staying but the boys too (best friend's boyfriend and DD's). And that DD and boyfriend (I'll call him Jose as it's nothing like his real name!) were not only back together but all four teens had slept in the same room.

DH was fuming on both counts. We had an argument when I said we couldn't really ban her from seeing Jose as it would make him more attractive but that yes, we would put a stop to the second part. When DD came home, we had a talk with her and said that if she is to continue to see Jose, he has to start visiting her here, meeting in town etc. and not expecting her to simply rock up at his all the time. She said that she'd already told him that, and he'd agreed. On the co-sleeping, we said it wasn't to happen again and then spoke with friend's mum to stop it there. We also used the opportunity to talk about how to get away if she was being pressured into sex etc.

Week passes, she arranges for Jose to come up to spend the day here. Expected time of arrival comes and goes, no Jose. An hour later she gets a message from him saying something about babysitting little sister, how he'd forgotten etc. etc. etc. and would she go there. Despite misgivings we agreed, with the caveat that this was the last time.

Two weeks later and he's still not been up here to spend time, despite her going to his most days either before or after school.

I don't know where to go from here. I want to put a deadline on him sticking to the agreement (and I've curtailed the after school visits) but I also don't want to make him into some kind of forbidden delight. Any suggestions on how to handle this now?

OP posts:
Carlamomof3 · 12/09/2016 11:19

I think it's important to continuing to talk to her about healthy relationships and how good relationships are based on mutual respect, trust and honesty. It sounds like Jose always wants things his way and doesn't care about what she wants. Hopefully in time your daughter will see through all of this and break up with him. Talk to her about sex and let her know she can come to you for birth control and condoms but also let her know that she shouldn't be forced into anything she isn't ready for or doesn't want. Sending you happy thoughts!!

Penfold007 · 12/09/2016 12:25

You and H are being played. Jose has no intentions of following your rules and why should he, you caved at the first challenge. Please stop being naive the are sexually active.

Oliversmumsarmy · 12/09/2016 12:45

You need a serious chat with your dd about acting like a doormat. I have drummed it into mine that if you act like one then you can expect people to wipe their feet on you.

You too need to stop pandering to them and if you say something then stick to it.

arrrrghhwinehelpswithteens · 12/09/2016 16:18

Hi All
Thanks for the advice. An update: we no longer act as taxi to take her to his; we have also put feet down - she has to come straight home from school instead of going to his. Just waiting to check that she does stick to it! (luckily I'm at home at the moment with an arthritic collapsed knee - and I never thought I'd say that about something that's imobilised me!)

I'm looking for stuff online about abusive relationships - I know there are some resources on the Girlguiding website that I'm going to download to use with her.

And no, I'm not naive regarding whether she is / isn't having sex, I'm just giving her the benefit of the doubt. On the contraception issue - I'm starting to think it's a good idea but there is a family medical reason why she cannot have oral contraception; but the school nurse can give out condoms (it's where her best friend gets them) so it's just a case now of making sure she knows that she can talk to us and making it ever more difficult for her to see him!

OP posts:
arrrrghhwinehelpswithteens · 12/09/2016 16:29

Just in case anyone else is having a similar issue, I've found a couple of really good sites aimed at teens:

www.disrespectnobody.co.uk/relationship-abuse/signs-to-spot/

thehideout.org.uk/ (this is aimed more at domestic abuse)

www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/bullying-abuse-safety/abuse-safety/relationship-abuse/

Guess which sites I will be showing DD over the next couple of days.

OP posts:
Hellothereitsme · 12/09/2016 16:30

There are other contraceptives apart from the oral pill. I really don't think a 14 girl should just be relying on condoms - both participants should be using precautions.

AnyFucker · 12/09/2016 19:31

those are good sites, op

roundandroundthehouses · 13/09/2016 11:19

Yes - thank you, OP. I had a look at those links and passed them on my dd aged 14. (I got an eyeroll, but we can hope that she'll also have a look!)

arrrrghhwinehelpswithteens · 14/09/2016 10:54

well, we are planning a sit-down with her this evening (both of us) to talk about contraception and life aims. Wish us luck!

OP posts:
rogueantimatter · 14/09/2016 12:44

Scarleteen might be useful. I can't remember how I discovered this site but it's written and managed by young adults - 20somethings IIRC so the advice they give is very up to date and relevant to the times we're in now. They have lots of articles and quizzes and Q +A's on all things to do with teenage relationships including things like, 'MOT my relationship', 'Am I ready for a sexual relationship?' etc. In depth Q's such as 'Does my bf give my preferences and needs equal consideration to his?' 'Am I relaxed when I'm with my BF'?

I sympathise - my DD had a horrible bf for ten months when she was 15. The next bf was lovely though.

Another thought. Girls in particular, from 13-16 enjoy the drama of any situation potentially involving conflict. It adds excitement to daily life. It sounds like you're doing a great job with your DD, but there might be a balance to be had of talking about the BF with her a lot in the hope that you will influence her to make good choices but not accidentally giving her the impression that this is a big deal (in some ways it is a big deal) by talking about it a lot. It might give her the confidence to stop putting up with him if you can give her the impression that any bf is just one more 'thing' in her life. IYSWIM.

Try to keep her busy with other stuff. Easier said than done I know. I'd be very supportive of hobbies, school stuff and other friends.

Flowers
arrrrghhwinehelpswithteens · 14/09/2016 15:16

Hi rogue that site is great - I will pass this on to her later on when we talk.

OP posts:
arrrrghhwinehelpswithteens · 16/09/2016 15:33

Ok, just a quick update. Thanks for all the advice and for the website hints.

We sat down with her on Wed night. Oh that went well. She lost her temper with us (then calmed down) but in her rants let out some valuable information - including, she's stated that she doesn't want to do it, (so they've obviously talked about it!); he won't come up to ours as he's afraid (oh yeah, because we'll be in the house!) and she already knows about contraception We explained why she will need to talk to the family GP about what she can / cannot have then let it drop.

Fast forward to last night and she helps me with the cooking, explains she was angry as she and Jose had split up (cf the comment about not wanting to do it above). I asked how she felt then reiterated that wanting to experiment is natural but that she does need to talk to us about things like that instead of getting angry. And recommended the Scarleteen site again.

Hey ho, more grey hairs....

OP posts:
rogueantimatter · 16/09/2016 17:10

Oh my goodness! I hope they don't get back together. She deserves a nicer bf or time without the distraction of a bf.

It's so difficult at this age because they want to preserve their privacy and feel disloyal talking about things that they feel should just be between the two of them. But we, naturally want to protect them and guide them.

She will appreciate the fact that you clearly have her back. Boost her self-esteem now. It can't be easy being a teenager today with 24/7 social media/ads etc.

arrrrghhwinehelpswithteens · 16/09/2016 20:21

thanks rogue we've been working on that. She's off to spend the majority of the day with a good friend tomorrow, who has been off school since May poorly - she's going to take loads of girly stuff.

I hope she does keep away from him, he's stopped attending the ATC as often which is one of the only places outside school that they had in common so fingers crossed!

OP posts:
ApocalypseSlough · 16/09/2016 20:33

Next time he tries to get back with her tell her she's not to. She's under 18, under your roof and you're modelling very poor boundaries to go along with it any more.

ApocalypseSlough · 16/09/2016 20:35

Flowers for you all- it's not easy if everyone else is accommodating his shoddy behaviour and seems to think it's all right for young teenagers to be having sex, but it's not- particularly when there's such an imbalance of power.

arrrrghhwinehelpswithteens · 16/09/2016 20:46

Hi apocalypse ahead of you there - already been told cannot get back together with him as bf/gf, but as they're in the same school & ATC unit I can't stop them mixing; however as mentioned above he's stopped going to ATC as often so hopefully that will tail off too. She wants to stay at the unit though as it's a) one both her dad and I attended and b) Dad is OC. Unfortunately he can't ban Jose though. Sad

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread