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Teenagers

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

I can’t cope anymore

111 replies

Peony26 · 22/02/2023 12:27

Ive given my 16 year old son until 2pm to get out, or I’m calling the police to remove him, we are cutting him off, his behaviour has been challenging mainly at school since he was about 7, and when we discipline him at home for his behaviour it spirals into his horrible behaviour at home too. So he’s left school and gone to college and been kicked out, we’ve been supporting him by taking him to appointments etc but he just won’t do anything for himself! He’s bone idle and he needs to grow up! Hes supposed to be at an appointment at 1.30pm about a traineeship but he’s been kicking off since about 9am, won’t get showered or dressed, is sitting on the Xbox, screaming at us, calling us every name under the sun. He's never sworn at me until today he gets grabby, he’s really nasty, screaming and shouting but never beaten or swore at us before. He’s basically screaming at us that we are stupid because we won’t give him his phone that we pay for, so he can’t go anywhere.

My heads up my arse! It’s like a vicious circle he’s so entitled and disrespectful, he’s stood there and called his dad a fat retard, and so we’ve told him we aren’t paying for his phone after being treated that way, so then he’s literally screaming in my face that I’m a fucking idiot and where is he going to go if I won’t give him his phone. I’ve calmly explained that he’s not entitled to it, we pay for it and he’s abusive to us on a daily basis so he needs to leave and make his way himself. But he’s just screaming at me that I am an idiot because I’m not giving him everything, for him to go. We’re just going round in a circle, will the police help me remove him? What do I do, I can’t put up with his abuse every single day anymore, you can’t even wake him in a morning without him screaming at you

OP posts:
15feb · 23/02/2023 03:13

@Iwillbuymyselfflowers plus ASD and ADHD are on spectrums. If a parent of a child with very mild ASD, or just different symptoms, said your child was making excuses for his ASD related struggles, I don't think you'd agree.

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 23/02/2023 09:27

My husband is very tech minded so he blocks everything remotely, he always get a warning and then we will cut it off, and we cut it off this morning when he first started, but then he was trying to make us unlock it and then he would do as we asked so we obviously said no! I have tried so hard to change the narrative, for example he wouldn’t clean his room, so I did it. He felt really guilty for about 2 minutes, and all I asked was that he didn’t leave any cups in there again, but yesterday 5 cups in there! I didn’t even comment on anything else

What happens if you leave the tech alone? I think it’s recognised that if he is ND then they often calm themselves down through tech. Removing it can trigger meltdowns. I think you need to pick your battles. DD’s room is always full of cups. I just take them out. It’s what teenagers do.

He’s 17, when is he 18? He’s nearly an adult. Are cups in rooms a bill to die on? Is tech? What happens if you back off a bit?

AllOfThemWitches · 23/02/2023 09:46

DD’s room is always full of cups.

Not just mine then

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 23/02/2023 09:47

AllOfThemWitches · 23/02/2023 09:46

DD’s room is always full of cups.

Not just mine then

Yeah going into a teen bedroom is like going into IKEA.

You go in for something and come out with 3 plates, 2 glasses and 5 cups.

50change · 23/02/2023 10:02

Teenagers brains are not fully developed yet in males I think it’s around 25. You chose to have a child just because he is acting like a teenager doesn’t warrant you throwing him out. You can’t compare him to others. You are still responsible for him to an extent. If you can’t live with him give him the means to live elsewhere. Teenagers don’t deserve to live in a dictatorship they have rights just like everyone else. Of course stop giving him money for his bad habits but you still need to be supportive parents even if he is being unbearable at the moment. If you can’t cope get some help pay privately if necessary. Don’t abandon him now emotionally, physically or socially. Good luck.

Peony26 · 23/02/2023 10:23

I am leaving this post now, because it is really impossible to explain everything, and the emotions and the full picture which many of you aren’t getting.

Our family and friends, even his friends don’t understand, and find him impossible a lot of the time. After bashing myself for years. I now know it’s not what we are doing wrong. The fact that he’s the same everywhere with everyone backs that up! Sometimes I wish there was an underlying issue, because at least then it would make sense and we could be proactive. But atm he’s been assessed and they’ve found nothing.

This whole time we have tracked his device and knew where he was and that he was safe and then he went to my moms, we kind of gave him the shock but monitored him without his knowledge. We will see how he is today, probably remorseful to get what he wants and then back to square one. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times and routes we’ve tried to change the vicious circle that we are in.

I really feel for parents in this situation, until you’ve lived it you really have no idea.

OP posts:
Stomacharmeleon · 23/02/2023 10:43

@Ketzele you can request assessment you don't need her to be in school.

Ketzele · 23/02/2023 13:14

Stomacharmeleon, thank you I did request but they are refusing to assess her without evidence from school and school can't give evidence if she's never there. School can't make any adjustments without the assessment. I have appealed, I have gone to the education welfare officer, family support, post adoption support, even my MP - apparently nobody can do anything. The only part of the system that works is the regular letters threatening to take me to court.

CAMHS also say that because she is adopted I should get her attachment problems solved first then see if she still struggles at school! Because disordered attachment can be cured like a verruca... anyway, it's all a cynical effort to mask the fact that CAMHS is a broken system, in my area at least. I have shed many tears...

Stomacharmeleon · 23/02/2023 14:08

@Ketzele I just don't understand why things/ young people have to be pushed to their absolute rock bottom (and then some) before any help is given
I absolutely feel for you and I did it twice.
Eldest I took local authority to court (well he did) and ehcp was granted but not before he lost his place at a grammar school with an attached specialist unit. Late delay led to years in a psych unit.
Sending a hug.

Ketzele · 23/02/2023 16:26

Thank you, you nearly made me cry again! It's a tough road for some kids.

nutmegx · 23/02/2023 20:03

www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/diagnosis/pda

Pathological demand avoidance (PDA) is a profile that describes those whose main characteristic is to avoid everyday demands and expectations to an extreme extent. This section explains what a PDA profile is and the assessment process. It also links to some personal accounts from adults with PDA.

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