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Difficult grandad ignoring granddaughter - advice needed please?

(28 Posts)
Nonu Tue 16-Apr-13 14:11:22

Very difficult for you Bonnie , I though would be inclined to side with my daughter , especially as she is shy , I think when they are young they can get tongue tied and don"t really have many social skills .

To me at any rate I think the adult should be more understanding .
You say he can be charming to his friends , perhaps a littlle charm would not go amiss at home .

Hope things can be sorted for you , as you are stuck in the middle so to speak .

smile

liminetta Tue 16-Apr-13 14:08:01

I am very sorry for your situation.Although I have not had your particular experience; I can sympathize because we (my daughter and her two children, both girls), and myself, have had our own similar problem.My daughter left her husband down south, and came to live near myself and my husband ten years ago when the children were young.As we have no other family apart from my sister, who is a widow, I hoped that she would get involved with the children in some way.But alas we were sadly disappointed, and she practically ignores them.I must say that in the past, she has had depression, and over the years I have tried to understand her behaviour, much as you have done with your father.But i feel that now is the time to stop.Stop being angry and upset.Stop trying to change his behaviour, and moving near to him will only bring you more heartache.Explain to your daughter that his attitude is wrong; that you yourself will never understand it, and if she dosnt want to go again, nobody is going to make her.Your father has had his life, and should not be allowed to ruin yours.I hope this helps!

BonnieB Tue 16-Apr-13 13:47:36

Briefly as possible - I'm at a loss and need some help with this and who better to ask than some grans/granddads.
We were all shattered by my mum's sudden and unexpected death 4 years ago. My dad ( in his nineties and fit as a fiddle) has gradually recovered with lots of help and some medication for his anxiety and depression. He lives independently, drives, visits friends and is feisty and determined to keep going, but also lonely. The problem is that he has one grandchild (my daughter) who is 13 and since just after Mum died, he has ignored her! I'm an only child too! We visit every school holiday and stay with him and I phone every other day as we don't live nearby.

At first I put his behaviour down to depression as he was not himself at all. He stayed with us for long periods and I spent a lot of time visiting him so that he was not alone. He made some new friends and things improved a lot. But we have just come back from yet another visit, and he totally ignored his granddaughter again and I am in a rage! She is a lovely girl but has difficulty communicating and is very shy, so won't start a conversation and doesn't know what to say anyway! We have explained this (and he knows anyway as it's not new) but he ignores it and always brings the subject back to himself. He just looks straight past her and can sit at a table for a meal and not even look at her once. Yes I have tackled him about it and he gets very angry and defensive and refuses to talk.

I should mention that my mum was the loving gran and although he did take an interest it was mum who made a fuss and did everything. I am angry and upset and feel stuck - I either don't visit him (which I don't want to do, of course), or else condone his behaviour by carrying on as if everything is ok. No one else knows - his friends have no idea and we don't have a big family so it's just us. There is no logic to it and he blames his GD for not making an effort to speak to him! Unsurprisingly she doesn't want to go any more and neither do I or my husband to be honest! We even considered moving to be nearer to help him out but this situation is spoiling the whole relationship. He is very self-centred and tends to blame other people - it is impossible to have a calm discussion - I have tried but he refuses to discuss it and just says that he wishes that things were better. He can and does make a huge effort with friends and is charming and helpful to others which I find puzzling and very upsetting. Does anyone have any advice please?