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.

18 year old daughter hates my partner

196 replies

mrsorourke1 · 02/05/2020 08:44

Hi, this is my first post on here and I apologise for its length but I'm in crisis with my daughter and would welcome any advice.
I have been with my partner for the last 7 years and lived with him and my daughter for 6. They have always had a slightly uneasy relationship as he likes a clean house and she is extremely lazy and resents him asking her to do things around the house. But he has done more for her than her own father, going to all parents evenings, university tours, financially supporting her through university, sending her other bits of money just so she can treat herself, listening to her and giving her a cuddle when she's upset about things etc..The only time me and my partner really argue is regarding my daughter and he gets frustrated that I always defend her which I know I shouldn't do if she's in the wrong.
She started university away from home last September and things settled down but due to the lockdown she had to come home. Since being home she has laid in bed all day and hardly done a thing around the house. My partner does have some mental health issues and he has also been struggling with lockdown and had missed some of his tablets. I'm a nurse and had come home from work with suspected corona virus and he had asked her to do a few things around the house as it would help me whilst I was unwell. He had specifically asked her to do the hoovering but after a few hours it still wasn't done. He lost his temper and barged into her bedroom with the hoover and a full scale row erupted, she pushed him as he was invading her space and he called her some vile names, I broke it up. My daughter has left the house and gone back to stay with her dad and is refusing to come back to the house whilst my partner is there. He knows he shouldn't have crossed her boundaries and called her names and is willing to apologise but she won't even come home to discuss things. She thinks that I should kick him out and can't understand why I want to continue a relationship with a man that treats their daughter this way and says that I should chose her over him. I want to stay with my partner but I don't want to lose my daughter either. My own mental and physical health are suffering and I'm at my wits end please help x

OP posts:
AlternativePerspective · 03/05/2020 11:39

This is Mumsnet so anything involving a man will lead to comments of LTB. Also a lot of people projecting.

Personally I think she sounds like a spoiled manipulative brat,and given she’s almost an adult she’s close to becoming a bitch in the making.

And the stepmother vs stepson would result in different posts precisely because the stepson would be male
Teenagers can be horrible creatures. Even most parents lose it with their teenagers sometimes, but the difference is that if parents do it the teenagers can’t strop off or demand the one parent end the relationship.

I have a seventeen year old who doesn’t pull his weight. In many areas I pick my battles but in others there is no ccompromise. E.g. I asked him to bring all rubbish down before the next morning as it was bin day, I had been asking him all week so this particular day I told him that if he didn’t bring it down then i would be waking him up at 7 AM to do it,and not to think that I wouldn’t because I absolutely would, and set my alarm accordingly. I absolutely would have done it, but aaaah surprise, the rubbish was brought down the night before......

Last year I spent six weeks in hospital, and while I was there my parents stayed in my house with my partner there at weekends so they could go home. My DS started his GCSE’s the day I went into hospital,I spent two weeks in ICU, had a full crash,a cardiac arrest and heart surgery and a further four weeks on the wards.So I think it’s fair to say that stress was fairly evident on all sides.

Anyway one night my DS and my mum had an absolutely massive falling out which resulted in my dad going in and shouting at my DS. He immediately texted me afterwards because he felt so guilty. He apologised to DS but DS was having none of it. I spoke to DS and while I made allowance for the fact that he was stressed over both his exams and me,that the way he had spoken to people wasn’t on and that he had as much blame as they did.

Things are rarely black and white.

I would call her bluff at this stage. If she wants to move back to her dad’s then i would let her. But I would do so on the understanding that your partner will no longer be funding her university since she obviously doesn’t want him to, because by saying you need to end the relationship that is effectively what she’s saying. She can’t pick and choose which bits she wants. Either she accepts that you’re together,and given she’s now left home she has no right to demand you split up with him, or she demands you split, which means she wants nothing from him including his money.

onceuponatimeinsuburbia · 03/05/2020 12:00

Your daughter comes across as entitled, lazy and selfish. She's 18 not eight. You're a front line nhs worker with suspected covid and she won't lift a finger? She's a poor excuse for a human being let alone a daughter.
Your partner comes across as someone who's made lots of effort to 'parent' her. I suspect that if he was her biological father he'd have had more say and you would have presented a more united front on your daughter's poor behaviour. Given that he's got some mh issues, lockdown cabin fever (haven't we all), worries about your health & ongoing exposure it is any wonder he's had enough of her freeloading selfishness? You don't say that he 'dragged her out of bed' as misreported unthread. He might have barged into her room but if that's the worst thing he's done, it's hardly massively significant in the scheme of things is it?
How were things between you when she was away? Peaceful? Happy? Unstressed? It's not like you've thrown her out. If she didn't have the option of being at her father's then she'd have to apologise and change her behaviour like the adult she is.

Deadringer · 03/05/2020 12:02

Things are difficult for everyone right now, this is the last thing you need, and i would tell them both that. Your dd was being lazy, annoying but normal, but your dh was way out of line. Barging into your teen's room, shouting and calling her names, is not normal behaviour. A bit of separation will be good for both of them right now.

Oliversmumsarmy · 03/05/2020 12:34

Missokaye

But it is all about cleaning.

You were the one that said the biggest issue between your Dp and your dd is how he wants the house to be. That she doesn’t tidy up after herself.
Newsflash some people don’t.
I don’t wash up straight after I used something. I don’t load the dishwasher immediately after eating dinner.
It gets loaded and set off at some point during the day. We have clean crockery and a clear work surface at least once per day. Whether I do it or dc or Dp does it and everything is tidied away before I go to bed.

The house will never be clean. There will always be cups out or someone has walked on carpet or dust is settling.

Your Dp might be wanting things just clean and tidy but there is more than just him living in the house.

My mother only ever wanted me to clear up after myself and would bemoan to her friends that all she wanted was a “clean and tidy” house (the same words that you say your Dp uses) that’s all she wanted.

Underneath those “reasonable” words was someone obsessed with cleaning and getting those around her to clean. To the point she was put into psychiatric hospitals on a regular basis.
So forgive me if I see a parallel between your Dp and my mother.

Including her bursting into my room shouting at me to get out of bed and clean.

What is his reaction if you don’t wash a cup up or leave a dirty plate on the side till the evening.

Would you even do that because deep down you know it would upset him and you want to keep him happy.

Cheeeeislifenow · 03/05/2020 12:40

Some people really fill in the blanks here with their own stuff. Massive, massive projections and assumptions.

Missokaye · 03/05/2020 13:32

@Oliversmumsarmy you obviously don't see a difference between liking your house to be clean and having a cleaning obsession, think you are massively projecting here!! I also like a clean house but due to me being ill in bed my partner had to step in and ask my daughter to help out which he did nicely quite a few times before this happened. He certainly wouldn't kick off if I left a dirty cup on the side or didn't clean up after myself!!

Alonelonelyloner · 03/05/2020 13:55

People in MN seem to think that mothers and fathers should prioritise their kids forever, even when they're adults and being unreasonable. It's absurd. As someone with adult kids there is no way they'd get away with this shit and treating my partner badly just because they are my kids!

Your DD is being unreasonable and rude.
Your life does not have to revolve around her. It's your home.

Oliversmumsarmy · 03/05/2020 14:42

Missokaye
Realistically how filthy was the house that you had to get up from your sick bed to tidy and clean.
Because your dd wouldn’t.

I am presuming the house was clean and with both of you at work all day and your dd in her room I can only see that there would be a few cups and plates left out.

And if you are allowed to leave cups and plates out why are you getting at your dd if she does the same thing.
And why the need to hoover.

Cleaning to my mind tips over into a problem when it not only is accompanied by MH problems but also when you take to bursting into someone’s room because they have not cleaned or cleaned to your standards

As you said this has been going on since he moved in.
I suspect this reaction by your dd is more about the build up of the last 6 years.

She is an adult now and having lived independently has found her voice.

Crack on defending your Dp and supporting him in how unreasonable your dd is but don’t forget it was you who chose him over your dd’s feelings 6 years ago.

And once again you are choosing him over her now.

Just because you put up with a step father that created tension in the house doesn’t mean others will.

Missokaye · 03/05/2020 14:57

@Oliversmumsarmy can I ask please how old your teenagers are at home?

JingsMahBucket · 03/05/2020 14:59

@Missokaye you’ve had a name change fail. Would you like to start posting as @mrsorourke1 again? It would help us keep track of your posts since you’d be highlighted in green. :)

Missokaye · 03/05/2020 15:01

@JingsMahBucket sorry my account was hacked so I had to change it all

Quartz2208 · 03/05/2020 15:08

@Missokaye I am not sure this thread is helping because I dont think it matters what the consenus is one way or another - because yes I think your daughter is asking you to choose, I think you have made your choice in your partner and yes I think your daughter will see it through.

Whether she is right or wrong to do that isnt for anyone to say but it is her choice just as it is yours

giggly · 03/05/2020 15:09

Op all I can hear is you defending your dp and how “nicely” he asks her to do stuffHmm

JingsMahBucket · 03/05/2020 15:26

@Missokaye ah gotcha. No worries then. I would also highly suggest you stop replying to the Oliversmunsarmy poster because no good can come of it. She’s known for building stories in her head around an OP and massively projecting from own bad childhood. She’s also known for being like a dog with a bone and not letting go of some insignificant detail and dragging it out. I’d step away if I were you.

Missokaye · 03/05/2020 15:33

@JingsMahBucket thanks for the advice, yes I'm beginning to see what you mean!!

aSofaNearYou · 03/05/2020 16:14

Ridiculous over dramatisation by your daughter, and by the looks of things a lot of the posters on this thread were the sort of people who would have pulled the same thing at 18. He shouldn't have barged in or called her names, but he lost his rag, once, because she is habitually being far too lazy. Most of us have will have had at least had an argument like this in our times, it's been blown way out of proportion.

She is 18, now an adult, and not only does she need to pull her weight at home but people will start to treat her like a peer. She can't expect to be molly coddled forever. I would speak to her about lockdown being hard for everyone, tempers are frayed and people are struggling and need to be allowed some slack, both her and DP included. You all need to be understanding and not make it harder for everyone else, which is what she was doing.

Just tell her she is welcome to come home whenever, and that your partner wants to apologise to her. Don't pander to her more than that, he should apologise but the idea that you should do more than that and end your relationship is ridiculous.

MrMeSeeks · 03/05/2020 16:42

I wouldn’t break up. Your dd sounds very selfish.
She should be pulling her weight, especially with you being ill!
She lies in bed all day and can’t even hoover Confused and expects you both to cook for her?
Your dp lost his temper but now she’s clearly just being childish.
If she won’t listen to any apologies then she stays with her dad ( see how long she can get away with not lifting a finger there).
Your dp was wrong, so was your dd, seems it’s only your dp that’s willing to apologise and sort things out.

Oliversmumsarmy · 03/05/2020 17:40

17 and 19.

Beeep · 03/05/2020 17:54

OP, what do you think will happen if you chose your partner over your daughter. I wouldn’t concentrate on who is in the right and who is in the wrong, I’d be thinking about what will happen if you side with your partner.

aSofaNearYou · 03/05/2020 18:45

OPs daughter is 18, it sets a terrible precedent to succumb to emotional blackmail from an adult child, knowing full well they aren't right. This is a firmly established, long term relationship we're talking about.

FrippEnos · 03/05/2020 23:25

Beeep
I wouldn’t concentrate on who is in the right and who is in the wrong, I’d be thinking about what will happen if you side with your partner.

So you would be happy to lose your DP, have to sell the house and be single for as long as your DD wants you to be?

Oliversmumsarmy · 04/05/2020 07:31

I don’t think your dd seriously wants you to split up with your Dp. She has moved on. But I think she needs to have a conversation with you about why you brought someone who it seems she never really got on with into your home and why at 12 her feelings meant nothing

Whether your dd will ever come home is a separate issue but it is about if you want to salvage some sort of relationship with your dd

MaybeDoctor · 04/05/2020 08:59

If your daughter were a few months younger - a September baby - she would still be at school. She may be at uni but she is still a very, very young adult. Lying in bed all day is not how I behaved as a teen and lie-ins weren't really acceptable in my family home, but I know that it isn't too uncommon. Your partner really does need to be the bigger person, especially as he seems to have instigated the argument. As for 'ungrateful bitch'? There are no words.

To be frank, I would tread carefully yourself if you want to keep a good relationship with your DD. One of my parents made me feel rather unwelcome once I had left home for university - selling up and moving hundreds of miles away. There was no bedroom for me there (money wasn't an issue) and it was made clear that I no longer really had a place to call home. I was still expected to go for Christmas etc, which I did reluctantly, as I felt very much a visitor. That same parent was also hugely critical around house rules, how things were done in the kitchen etc. As soon as I had a bit of money I was staying in hotels instead. Years later, once I was financially independent, that same parent was astonished that I didn't really want to visit, or bring my family to stay at their house.

You still wield a bit of power over her now, via money and accommodation, but in a few years time the extent and closeness of your relationship will depend on how you treat her.

aSofaNearYou · 04/05/2020 09:39

@Oliversmumsarmy

OP has answered you repeatedly saying they got on well and her DD was the one who invited him to parents evening and was happy for him to move in. You are massively projecting by saying she never liked him, which you keep doing to suit your POV.

FrippEnos · 04/05/2020 10:03

aSofaNearYou

That poster has form for making up their own narrative and then posting and re-posting it in the hope that it will become canon.

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.

Swipe left for the next trending thread