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Beginning to resent my daughter

(36 Posts)
Operalover Wed 17-Jul-19 13:15:42

Hello all I'm a newbie and hope you can offer some clarity

My daughter who is mid forties lives at home with me and my husband of 30+ years , her step father. She returned home following the break up of a short relationship which resulted in a pregnancy. At the time I was happy to support her through the pregnancy and with the baby. My daughter suffers from depression and social anxiety and finds it hard to hold down a job. My husband and I support her and our grandson now 13 financially as she is on benefits. She does very little in the home unless asked and I am finding that I don't want to spend any time with her. Our grandson is bright and funny and also talented musically. My daughter lives her life totally through him and this worries me for the future. We have funded rented accommodation for them both in the past but this broke down very quickly. Help !!!

Operalover Thu 18-Jul-19 11:26:57

Hello Minerva. I can relate and thank you. I also have a great bond with my Grandson and that's the only thing stopping me from asking them to go. His standard of living would drop dramatically and I can't be responsible for that. This is the only home he has ever known and he is a happy child.
I have just had chat with my daughter re chores etc which has been positive and she is vacuuming as I type.
Good luck with your situation.

inishowen Thu 18-Jul-19 12:26:07

You could point out to her that if she stays in your house she will eventually be your carer when you are very old. That idea might not appeal. I agree with the others. Have her sit down with you and make a plan about how much help she needs to do around the home. Good luck.

Kimrus Thu 18-Jul-19 12:49:40

Oh how I feel for you Operalover.
Be strong, and be frank. Give her the one option. A date she has to move out with her son.
I have had 2 grandchildren living with us, brother and sister. Rules were put into place. Grandson 14, granddaughter 19. Rules went out the door as soon as my back was turned. The boyfriend stayed over many nights. No help whatsoever when boyfriend was around, but always arrive before dinner and expect to eat. I was paying for her tertiary education, she was getting benefits, never saw a cent. At times I needed to travel to other side of country and poor hubby had to deal with it. What a nightmare it became. My purse had to be locked away, computer had to be passworded,objects were disappearing ( assumed hocked) bedroom doors were closed, food was being taken into bedrooms, phones constantly attached to them, even if eating together at the table. No conversations to be had, no offer to assist preparing or cooking meals, no offer of money towards their upkeep. I would called it used, abused and spat out. Once I enforced my rules, things got worse, they would ring their mother and tell her I was being too strict and they had no privacy. Hello you are under my roof and you will abide by my rules, otherwise you may leave. I’m paying for their education, how ungrateful they were. Both left, but it took my credit card to be stolen from my purse for it to come to a head. I had gone east and hubby was left behind with these 2 ungrateful sods. It took me a few days to realise I didn’t have my card and to find over $5000 had been spent in places I would never shop, card was blocked. They both knew at this point I was onto them. Within 24 hrs, both had fled the house, and what I found left behind was disgusting. Drugs, alcohol, rotten food squashed into floors. I will never allow them in my place again, and in fact I never want to see them again. This was over 18mths ago and neither have ever apologised to us and I am sticking to my guns. We have recently had school holidays here, and the youngest 2 children came to stay with some of their cousins. Unfortunately parents had to be called to pick the children up, I had fractured my hip. OMGoodness the 13 year old is a lazy conniving mongrel, just like his older siblings. Their father came to pick up and decided to stay and assist hubby when I came home from hospital, the jobs he started haven’t been finished, he enjoyed using my card to pay for stuff he needed to complete the jobs. Father slept most of the time, he has a bad back. Whilst father was around 13 yr old thought he could get away with everything. My home, my rules. Ask for a simple job, can you sweep the patio area and when it wasn’t done to my satisfaction, like 2 handed sweep and most of the stuff was left there still, I had the door slammed in my face and stormed off crying, his roared at me, he is only 13, don’t be so hard on him, he doesn’t understand. Excuse me, he fully understands but it’s ok for him to be given a phone so he can play games etc and be an extra appendage hanging of him. I may add we are still renovating and no tv in this house but 15 acres of land and lots of rescued animals live here, lots of sunshine to play in. Yet the rest of the grandchildren played happily. The last straw came when I had taken in some sheep, the SIL wanted to kill, free meat, and he is rather dogmatic in his attitude, returns from shops, oh my back is bad, but I tied up the legs of 3 sheep ready to kill them later. Sorry not happening, no coolroom facility no help and no way were they being killed. sIL decided his 13 yr old would help him. No one is listening to me, I rescue animals to see out their lives here no for consummation, well you guessed it, they were gone the next day so fast, saying he had to get home to his wife, my daughter she needed him. I understand that, but to leave our place and go to his stepdaughters for the night which isn’t on the way home from us and stay there and then to plaster it all over Instagram. I know full well where those 3 children learnt their skills. I will never have them back in my house. I understand my daughters frustration with them but in the end, she stuck up for them, so she too can stay away. No apologies nothing. We got taken for suckers again. My poor hubby just looked at me and said now you will believe me about your SIL and those kids. It has taken me many years but can never forgive and hubby battles through his work and gets up early hrs to do the morning feeds before work and leaves work early to get home and do nighttime feeds and bed the rescues down. Never any problems from them, they all appreciate what they have here is a better life, pity some humans can’t do the same thing.
You be strong operalover and get them out ASAP because you will begin to loathe every waking moment, give your daughter the date she has to be out. You will both remain friends and family, but if you let it continue that will be gone in no time

Riggie Thu 18-Jul-19 14:03:53

Obviously we have no idea how much you are financing them (and I'm not fishing) but you talk about a lifestyle drop.

But honestly your grandson will cope of things do drop a bit (and then a bit more) and long term you are doing him no favours if bank of grandparents is always open!! And what about whether your finances can manage to subsidise things - especially if you are retired? Also will her stepfather keep this up if you died? Maybe she does need to move on now in a planned way rather than things having to happen quickly as they might.

trendygran Thu 18-Jul-19 14:10:37

I would find it very strange if my mid forties daughter lived with me ,even if circumstances were different. I’m also sure she would not want to be dependent on me.As long as your daughter lives with you she is still in ‘child’mentallity and can escape responsibility for the life of herself and her son.
My daughter does also suffer from depression ,and other health problems. and has two adopted children to care for.
Her DH is good, but they are both stressed out nurses and life is complicated .No way would they expect to live with me.

Hm999 Thu 18-Jul-19 14:36:18

Sad to say Operalover that people who would be sympathetic if DD had cancer and so was living with parents, don't understand what it's like to have dependent offspring with mental health issues. The simple act of getting up in the morning can be emotionally draining all round.
The turning point in my family came through wanting to go back to college and think about the future. Perhaps thinking about DGS's future might prompt something similar?
Good luck x

nana15 Thu 18-Jul-19 17:05:53

This must be so difficult for you it is a lot to cope with,
[I know]. Your daughter is entitled to rent and council tax benefit paid if she is on benefits. sounds like she needs some help via the NHS with her depression as this can MAYBE get worse. Try to get some help for your GSon with his love for music.It would be a shame to let his interest and talent wain.Life is good if you are working on something that you love
All the very best to you

quizqueen Thu 18-Jul-19 17:15:33

I'm afraid you have enabled this dependency all these years. Even though you felt you had to offer her a home, she should have been doing all the caring, cooking etc. for her child. What sort of an example are you setting to him to let him see that it's okay to sponge off other people. He should have set jobs round the house too.

Set up a rota of days that she has to buy, prepare and clear away the meals for all of you (at least 3 a week) and she needs to do ALL her own cleaning and washing for her and her son. If she doesn't do it, then you and your husband can go out to eat or just prepare your own meal and leave her to it. The time to start tough love was yesterday; namby pandering around will get you nowhere!

Ooeyisit Thu 18-Jul-19 17:52:13

I had neighbours who were in this situation. The unmarried daughter and her child lived with them and the daughter did nothing to help , As the granddaughter grew she didn’t help either .. eventually when the mother was in her 80s she moved into sheltered housing and said she was sorry she hadn’t done it years before . Some people are born idle and I always think there is a sisterhood among women where you don’t watch another struggle if you can help . the trouble is if you tell her to go the child may end up neglected . it’s a difficult one but I would just give her a list of jobs on a paper to do each day and make sure she does them properly , put your foot down hard

GreenGran78 Thu 18-Jul-19 18:02:04

A couple I know are in a similar situation, but without the GC. Many years ago Daughter had a love affair with a man who turned out to be married. She returned to mum and dad with, allegedly, mental health problems. Since then she has been supported by them, and does little in the house. She is a fully qualified nurse AND teacher. She has had the occasional part time job, but abandons it if it becomes 'too demanding'.
She spends most of her time on her computer, and has passed just about every computer course going. She also became interested in Egyptology, and has done an Open University degree in it, funded by her parents (including numerous 'study trips' to Egypt. Her parents even supplied, and funded, her car.
Her mother died last year. Dad is in his 80s, but the status quo still remains. She does, of necessity, help more in the house, but still lives the life of Riley. I have always been sceptical of her mental health claims, but she has somehow managed to receive benefits for many years. I don't know if any of this went towards her keep, or was treated as pocket money.
I don't know what will happen when her dad dies, but I suspect that her mental problem will, of necessity, disappear. If we ever got onto the subject her mother was always worried that making a stand would result in her daughter's suicide, hinting at previous 'episodes.' They obviously had got themselves into a situation where they felt unable to stand up to their DD, and almost beggered themselves, as a result.