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Looking for advice on dealing with ungrateful SD

Lynn89's picture

Greetings from across the pond!  I apologize in  advance for venting and hope someone will have a tip to Deal with my annoyance.

Since my husband and I got married 15 years ago, his daughter is treated like a princess...the rules that apply to my daughter (she is 10 years younger than his daughter, who has never lived with us) do not apply to her.  What really drives me crazy is her ungratefulness. She will never thank me personally for  anything - for dinner, gifts, vacation etc.. She will phone her dad or text but that is it. I usually can deal with this but we just had a situation and I am fuming. She and her husband are having marital problems so my SD asked if she could come to us for a long weekend...naturally our door is always open and as luck would have it, we were to be away that weekend. I worked all week but made sure her room was made-up with fresh sheets, towels, flowers etc. . I had written her that we don't have much in the fridge so she may want to go grocery shopping.  She didn't ...my daughter did which I reimbursed her for. While we were away, I only heard updates through my husband...I know...I shouldn't be surprised. When we got home, she was still at our home . She stayed another night. I went to the store, refilled the fridge, cooked dinner, did the dishes all while she sat in front of her computer.  At one point, I did ask if she could set the table (which was done at a snails pace).  She left the next day...it's been a week and once again, I hear nothing. Perhaps I was just raised differently. I definitely raised my daughter to say thank you.  When I visit my mom, I always bring her a little something. Even my daughter's friends have sent me thank u flowers or texts and they are 20.  When I share my feelings with my husband, he gets defensive and says things like"sorry my daughter is so bad" but he would never talk to her (when she was 16/17 I did try to teach her about thank u notes etc) I am just so irritated with her rudeness.  She and her husband are over 30 have very good jobs but come across a entitled. If we go to dinner with them, they NEVER open their wallet. I don't know...am I being ridiculous? I know u shouldn't have expectations but I am getting tired of the ungratefulness and of my husband's attitude toward it. Thanks for reading and I am open to anyone's input.

Comments

tog redux's picture

Time to stop buying her things or getting the house ready for her visit. Personally I would not pay for an ungrateful kid's dinner twice. In our case, if we take SS out to dinner, DH pays with his own money, and SS would likely say thank you. But he's DH's son and DH doesn't expect me to pay for things for his son.

Let your DH deal with his entitled kid with his time and money. 

JRI's picture

I understand how you feel and would be the same way.  Some people were never raised with manners, that's the bottom line.  Sometimes, these folks are in an adult situation where they learn these things, often not.  Knowing this, I'd only do for her what you feel like doing, without expecting any response.  In other words, for a normal guest, you would do what you did for SD (fresh linens, flowers).  From now on, perhaps only do a walk thru to make sure the room is clean (as I'm sure the rest of your house is) and perhaps fresh linens.  No flowers, no special dishes.

Just to play devil's advocate, perhaps she was too distraught about the marital issues to act in a mannerly way.

Rags's picture

Be direct.  "I will not host your daughter in our home again until you set her straight on basic manners.  Helping cook, clean up, saying please and thank you, etc.  I prepared her room with clean linens, flowers, etc.  I cooked and served nice meals.  Not one verbal thank you, not a thank you card, no thank you flowers, nothing.  Fix it. Now!  Or she will not be welcome."

End of discussion.

shamds's picture

Their marriage, don't sit on their arses all day and go on the computer. 
 

i have argued and fought with hubby many times over skid crap and to the point where i wanted a divorce. Never did i leave the home that we were raising our then 2 toddlers. At most, not wanting to talk to my husband but once we got our space and cooled down, we aimed to tapk about things, the issues, our feelings and expectations within a day. 

staying angry at one another for several days doesn't solve shi*!! This is how adults should be. Going to daddy's home he shares with his wife because you're having marital issues of a non abusive kind is just a manipulative tactic to guilt the spouse into caving in

Jade123's picture

Hon, this is the way her parents raised her and it will never ever change. You can talk to your DH till you are blue in the face, he will say the needed things to keep you happy but it will never happen. Accept it and change your behaviour.

1. She is an adult woman, when she has marrital issues she needs to deal with it and not run away, hence no more hiding out at Daddy's house, simply say NO.

2. If there is no alternative, do not prepare her room, do not leave groceries for her, she is an adult woman, surely she knows how to make a bed and how to shop?
You simply do not do it, if your husband has issues with it, laugh and say, why then you can do it my dear, I'm not her maid.

These are the only things you can do, I always had the rule, I leave a clean tidy house when I leave, any child that remains behind, better make sure I step into a clean tidy house upon my return. Fungus never bothered to clean after her week end parties, I simply told SO... not stepping foot in that house till it is same condition as what we left it in, first he would jump and clean, eventually he told her NO if she wanted the house for a week end...

CLove's picture

Your husband will not resolve this. The patterns have been long-established and he isnt feeling the pain of dealing with this. You wrote that YOU are the one dealing with the pain of this. YOU are the one cleaning and putting thought and care into this. I dont know what your household finances are, but now that you have experience in her lack of thoughtfullness and non-gratitude, you can resign your position of household welcoming committee for SD. 

And no is a complete sentence unless you need an unpaid house-sitter. No more cleaning and shoppng and preparing. its really too bad, but her entitlement runs too deep. Of course she might also be depressed, and self-centric depressed people will not really be grateful towards those that do for them.