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Teenagers

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

DD 15 cut off her hair tonight

131 replies

Serehawk · 25/08/2017 05:34

I want to give some quick background. DD15 has said that she was trans for the last month or two. I have wrote another thread in that section about this issue. The big thing with her being trans is that the idea usually stems around a boy named Jack. She seems to use being trans as a way to be different because other than being asked why she is trans she says she feels like a boy. She never refers to herself as a boy only as trans. From what I have experienced females who are trans do not refer to themselves that way. They say they are a boy or male; not trans. (Saying she is trans and Jack come into play about her hair in a bit)

We are in the USA.

Okay, DP and I went for a night out tonight. We left DD home alone as she has done this before. We are on our way home when I get a phone call from DD. She is crying and calls me mommy. She only calls me that when something is wrong, she has done something, or she is hurt.

Me: Whats wrong?
DD: Your going to hate me:
Me: What did you do?
DD: I cut off my hair.
Me: WHAT?
DD: Crying.
Me: Why?
DD: Many reasons (crying still)
Me: Start talking.
DD: It's a trans thing. (Notice doesn't say she is a boy)
Me: What else?
DD: I want it short. (Okay I understand that)
Me: What is the real reason? ( I ask this because when answering the other two she seemed like she was holding back)
DD: I don't want to be normal I want to be different. (Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner.)
Me: Your hair was beautiful how it was.
DD: I knew you would say that. (crying louder)
Me: Why didn't you wait? I would've taken you to Teresa's(how hairdresser).
DD: Because if I waited I wouldn't have done it.
Me: Do you regret it?
DD: No I love it(She is crying really loud into the phone)
Me: Why are you crying?
DD: Because I did it.

When we get home she is told that there are consequences to what she has done. I do emphasize that she is in trouble because of cutting it behind our backs when we were out NOT because she wanted it short.

So I take her phone and her truck(She can drive to school in the USA). I make her unlock and take all passcodes off her phone. I begin going thru her messages.

Low and behold, I find what I thought I would find. Here is how the message went.
DD: I want to cut my hair
Jack:(friend from other thread) coughcutyourhairthen
DD: coughiwillwhenseventeenoreighteen
Jack: coughdoitthisyear
DD: coughwhen
Jack: coughdoittonight

There are a could pics of her long hair. Then.
DD: Video chat me. I will only do it that way so I don't chicken out.

Video chat call then a pic of her short hair.

This is not the first time Jack has told her to do things. Last year he tried to control her with late night calls and suicide threats if she didn't answer.

I don't know what to do. Right now she is not allowed any contact with Jack has I have her phone.

She has been told that when she gets it back she is not to lock her phone and I will be reading messages. If I see messages from or to Jack that I don't like there will be no more contact with him. (I have threatened to make her go to a flip phone, she hates them m ore that anything) If she deletes messages, pics, vids or anything then she looses her phone all together.

What else can I do to get thru to her? MAke her see that Jack isn't great. That she is great just how she is.

She thinks that her home cut looks great and it doesn't need fixed at all.

OP posts:
OliviaBenson · 29/08/2017 10:32

How did your chat with her go op?

ThumbWitchesAbroad · 29/08/2017 12:57

Does the school not address cyber stalking, grooming, sexting and all this carry-on? I mean, they absolutely should be doing so, but I know that a lot of teens go "yeah, yeah, whatever, not going to happen to me, I'm too smart" and then they get caught - but I was wondering if maybe they had a specific person to talk to at the school about it? Or would that lead to police involvement, which could spectacularly backfire?

I think regarding the phone that she should not currently have it back. This is no longer about the hair, that ship has sailed - it's about the inappropriate photos and the risk of her being done for sending child porn (even though it's of herself) - so no phone seems a reasonable response to that for now.

The talk needs to be had but I truly think someone outside of the family needs to have it as well - hence suggesting maybe a school person, teacher or counsellor, or someone from a child grooming unit or similar (If you can find one!) Is there any kind of domestic violence support unit around? They might be able to put you in touch with someone who deals with the fall out of child grooming cases, who might be able to talk to your DD and make her realise that it's not just a simple case of "mum being too controlling".

Serehawk · 02/09/2017 00:50

Sorry it has been an busy week. DD and I had the talk Monday night after DP went to work. I asked her about the pictures, she strongly said that taking the pictures was her idea. I made the mistake of handing DD the phone to show me something in her conversation with Jack and the conversation "accidently" got deleted. So no proof anymore that Jack was asking for the pics.

I did tell her that if I ever found he was asking for them that I would be informing the police. At this time I have been advised by a lawyer that if they were to persue Jack they would be looking at DD as well. I will only go that route if I need too.

DD is now on a basic phone. No pics can be sent from it or received. Any communication with Jack must be done in my presence. If I find any messages have been deleted from conversations with him then DD will be going to a call only plan.

She agreed to this with the condition that if she shows she is not doing anything illegal then I will allow her to have her smartphone back in the future. Right now I told her we would have to see how things go and she said okay.

theancientmarinader No Jack is not trans. On the whole trans issue I'm not to concerned right now about that. She has been acting and refering to herself as a girl with everyone but Jack for the last week.

ThumbWitchesAbroad There really is not any education at the school about cyber crimes. There is no one that she could talk to there. The councilor is the same from when I went there and she is cuckoo. I wouldn't trust her with DD issues anymore than I did when I had them in school.

We are still trying to find the right councilor.

OP posts:
ThumbWitchesAbroad · 02/09/2017 08:51

Blimey - you'd think they'd be educating them about this shit if they're going to go after the senders of photos as well as the receivers and spreaders!
OK, so avoid the police - maybe look up some crime tv shows that deal with grooming etc. and make her watch them? I'll see if I can find any in the CSI or Law & Order genre.

ThumbWitchesAbroad · 02/09/2017 08:54

Or you could look up news articles of children who have been charged with child pornography crimes for doing what she did; that might make her a bit more aware of how dimly she's behaved.

Serehawk · 03/09/2017 17:06

I am planning on showing her an article about a girl in the city about 60 miles from here who got arrested and charged last year. She is the same as then as she is now.

Will be showing her when DP goes to work. I am trying to not have these conversations when he is home as she is not comfortable with him being involved with this kind of thing.

OP posts:
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