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SS not wanting to stay

TLMT's picture

Hello, so i have a ss who is almost 15. He came to live with Dad, myself ans sibilings a few months ago. He was grounded at Bms house due to sneaking out to go meet a girl apparently and according to his Bm was acting very distant with them while living there. He asked my husband to come live here and i was very hesitant at first and did not like the idea. I needed time to process. My husband was angry with me and we fought but i finially decided it was gonna be ok. He came and started school and everything seemed fine till we got a call that he was failing most classes and not turning in homework. He does have adhd so its difficult for him which i understand and is on meds. My husband had a meeting with all his teachers and they said he is more than capable of doing this work. I believe its partly just laziness and partly adhd. His Bm doesnt seem to concerned with his grades or schoolwork and one of his family members is a teacher so you would think they would help him more. He was failing all the time at Bms. Fast forward the few months hes been here. He told Bm he hates it here and is coming home in june which was agreed upon by Bm and Dad. He doesnt like the rules here which are not bad. We expect him to do chores everyday just like his siblings. We have a bedtime during the week even though we arent in actual school. We expect him to eat fruits and vegetables, omg the horror of having to eat healthy lol. We allow him to eat junk but not all the time. We dont allow food in rooms or basment. If grades arent at least c or above he is not allowed to go hang with friends. At BMs there are not rules like that and he wants to run back to mom because its the easy way out. He has said too many rules and he hates it. Although i think the stay at home order has not helped. I honestly think he only came here because he was grounded at Bms and he saw it as a way out. We live in a different state so its difficult because my husband has to sign a bunch of papers and change child support. Once he goes back to Bms he can stay there cause this going back and forth stuff aint working. Hes very immature and does get on my nerves but overall a good kid. He doesnt throw attitude much but does not have the skills that an almost 15 year old should have. Has to be reminded to close the bread, cereal. Smears food everywhere and always has food smeared on his face. Has to be reminded about homework constantly and has to be guided through everything. I have stepped back some and let my husband take over and my husband can see how difficult it is. My husband thought it would be some magical thing but hate to burst your bubble its not. I do not like his Bm or her family, they baby him and thats why he is the way he is. Hes not used to responsibility and frankly his future does not look good. He will be in highschool next year and its much harder. He is severly lacking in skills. Its bothered me because i worry for his future but i know its out of our hands when he goes back to Bms. I really dont want him coming back when he doesnt like it at Bms. We told him this is it. Thanks for reading. Id love some input although this was more venting than anything.

tog redux's picture

So do DH and BM just intend to allow him to move to whichever home he thinks he can away with more in? Why does a 15-year-old decide where he lives?

TLMT's picture

Good point. We have told him once you go home to Bm you arent coming back. The back and forth isnt going to happen and it pisses me off.

TLMT's picture

The worst is when i hear him whining to Bm like its a prison here lol. Why because we have rules?

Rags's picture

This kid centric entitlement he gets to do what he wants when he wants model is a pathetic disaster.

Once he leaves in June. That should be it.  No more back and forth based on who kisses his ass the most.  A visit to your home should purely be  a visit with a specific departure date set prior to the visit and the clear understanding that failure to comply with household standards of behavior and performance while he is visiting gets him an immediate departure one way long and circuitous bus route ticket back from whence he came.

BM and DH are facilitating and enabling this crap and this will result in a kid completely unprepared to step out as a self supporting viable adult.

Sad.

TLMT's picture

Couldn't have said it better myself. You are absolutely right. Visiting and that is it. BM can deal with it. 

strugglingSM's picture

A lot of teens go through a phase where they don't want to do anything and don't like anyone's rules. For CODs, if parents are lax or are not on the same page, they can go "house shopping" and keep moving around to get what they want, which is to be left alone to do whatever they want. 

My SS, who is a young teen, tries to do this with parenting. DH will reprimand him for something (that any parent would reprimand a kid for), so SS complains to BM about how DH is "mean" or is "always critical" and then BM sends DH nasty messages about how SS doesn't like him. It's manipulation at its finest. This SS has never asked to move in, and I don't think he ever will because he already thinks I'm "too strict" because I expect him to throw out his own trash and not stay up all night watching YouTube. 

Your SS is avoiding any consequences by moving in between homes. I agree with the advice above - if he goes back to BM, then he doesn't come back to your house when he gets annoyed with BM. 

Harry's picture

It's his kid. He should be doing the schooling making SS do the homework.   Again once he goes back to BM that it.  No coming back, no games.