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MaryHadALittleTooMuch's picture

Hello everyone, I'm a long time reader and was a member years ago. I'll try to give some back story and keep it short but I know I'll leave out important information so I apologize in advance.

My SO has 3 kids, 2 (stb20SD and SS17) fom his previous marriage and SD 14 from another relationship. We have DS3 DS9MOS and another on the way together.

SD20 no longer lives with us. At 18 SO got her a job working with his for the summer making more than double minimum wage. She was cleaning for about an hour or two and then did nothing for the rest of her shift. Easy money. She was told to find another job before that one ended, it was summer work, or to save money and we would pay for some college classes. She didn't want to work or go to achool, didn't clean up after herself, wouldn't take care of herself (weeks without showering), was extremely disrespectful to everyone and was creating a toxic environment for all of the kids. After over a year of this she was told to move out. There's more to it but that's the basic story.

SS17 is going to work with me during the summer and is visiting colleges soon. He's a great kid. His only issues really are not wanting to clean up after himself and do his chores. He will do what we ask though.

SD 14 is a mess. She's a cutter, which isn't new to us as SD20 was as well (she suffered childhood trauma and used that to cope). She's a liar, little things big things, every thing. We got custody of her a few years ago. When she came we found out she had a lot of issues. SO was denied contact with her for years and fought it but it was hard just to get visitation for a long time. She wasn't like this when he stopped seeing her. We have hit a wall and really don't know what to do.

She's going online at BMS and GMS and talking to men, taking inappropriate pictures etc. We cut off most Internet usage at our home but BM still allows her saying it's normal teenage girl stuff. GM allows it because BM won't allow her to see SD 14 and she's worried she won't want to go there when SO allows it. SO told her it is to stop or there won't be anymore overnight visits and only short ones during the day. She was fine with this BUT we just found a secret cell phone that we think GM gave to her (not the first time).

SD14 is disrespectful, she has threatened to hit me once, I shut that down right away, always lying to SO then claiming she's not even though she does it in the same sentence. Always fighting, she's been physical with BM multiple times, BM has usually initiated these and they aren't discipline. Recently she bought drugs with her cousin and smoked them in our house. She told her school counselor that she smoked with BM too which prompted CPS to show up at both homes. The case was closed because SD14 claims she never did with BM. We know BM let's her use her hookah but not sure about the drugs. She's a user and wants to be SDS friend so it's hard to say. Now 2 days ago she went to her school counselor and told her that SO "repeatedly" punched her in the face and threw her down the stairs. She knew CPS would get involved and I think that's why she did this. She wants to live with BM again because we are too strict (have reasonable rules). The counselor called and gave us a heads up and said she knows she is lying. There isn't a single mark on her and she's pretty well known as the girl who cried abuse. I think another reason is she asked to go to a therapist her friend goes to and SO said no.

SO was/is afraid to punish her. He's improved a lot but struggles with following through. I think that's a big reason no punishment works. She's lost most of her privacy, for various reasins, and is now in the room next to ours with no lock and an open door. No Internet access of course, no going out with friends etc.

There's so much more but I can't begin to explain it all without adding 20 pages. I'm at the end of my rope. With the CPS issue I told SO that this is it. He needs to handle it or I'll have to take our children and leave because it's hurting them. Unfortunately the only way I can do so is to move 3 hours away with my family because I don't make enough to support us on my own, starting over is expensive, and our savings is drained thanks to court costs. Splitting his income between two houses will ruin us financially.

As a side note I disengaged from her in Nov 2015 after she nearly cost me my job.

Any advice is greatly appreciated and sorry for the bad formatting. I'm using my phone and can't edit too much without losing it all.

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MaryHadALittleTooMuch's picture

The drugs are gone, not that that makes it any better. He has full custody so BM has visitation and thankfully she will be with her this summer. Unless, like last summer, she "disowns" SD14 so she can go party.

The date to leave is set. I'm due in October and will be visiting family after released from the hospital since we will both have time off work. If nothing changrs, and fast, I will be gone. It gives me time to save more money and to put everything in place. Housing, a transfer etc.

His income pays for the majority of the bills and mine is food, gas and spending money. I know I'll be ok with government assistance for a short time until I'm able to return to work. SO will be ok financially but he won't be able to visit with the kids as often as we would both like and I am not ok with them being around SD14 now, if I'm not here I don't think I'll be able to let them go home with him and that will break both of us.

He has admitted he doesn't know what to do and thinks giving custody to BM would save us but if he does that SD14 will just spiral even more. To be honest the majority of her problems come after a visit with her mom. The big ones come after long visits.

I don't care for her the way I used to but she's still a child and can't protect herself. I'm not willing to do much for her anymore but I don't want to be the reason SO gives up on her.

MaryHadALittleTooMuch's picture

I know it seems like I'm one of those people hat are willing to jeopardize their kids for love or stability or blah blah but I'm not. My kids have and will always come first.

It's just a tough situation because they are all his kids. He's been through something similar before where he's had to realize he can choose SD14 or his other children, but not both. He decided if he had to lose one lid or 3 he would lose one. That's why it took so long to get custody and that's why SD14 is so fucked up.

It's hard to explain just how messed up she is. She's not smart, at all. She can't read well, has horrible grammar, stuggles with basic math. She doesn't understand the simplest things. DS3 is already more self sufficient and can function better than she can. She's always been slower than most kids her age and even slightly younger. She's the kind of person that if you tell her the fire isn't hot, even though she knows fire is hot and can see it burning wood, would believe you and touch it anyway.

MaryHadALittleTooMuch's picture

The best advice I ever got here was to disengage. I haven't dealt with anything that didn't directly affect me or my kids in over a year. It's a lot easier. I don't cook for them, clean up after them. SD14 has the dishes every night. If she doesn't do them they sit there until SO does or as her do them. This stopped being a problem when I stopped cooking for him because there weren't any dishes or he had to wash a fork. He's been doing fine with the basics but this attention seeking shit is driving us both insane. It's just like you said, she wants attention. SO tends to ignore the stuff she brings him that she sees as an accomplishment. "I brought my F up to a D-!" "You went up 3 grade points, blah blah." But BM is always so excited. "D means she's not failing!"
BM LOVES hospitals and doctors. Has had SD14 medicated just to get herself some attention. Reported us to CPS for giving her vitamins because she wasn't taking prozac anymore, approved by her doctor. Is going to the hospital constantly because she loves the attention she gets. Claims to be an alcoholic but can still drink when she wants because she's just that strong. She just likes to go to the meetings and SD14 likes going with her. They both go up and cry and tell sob stories about their hard lives and alcohols destruction.
I wish I could get rid of BM. After SO won custody BM refused to talk to SD because we "get the child support now" AKA SO's paycheck. SD was fine. Didn't have a single problem. Improved in school, acted like a normal person etc. Now that BM is back and withholding love for things like saying she liked me, because I'm the devil, SD has become such a cunt.

Sorry my replies are so long. Family and friends don't get it. They think I'm exaggerating and try to give me advice on how to parent someone else's mess.

MaryHadALittleTooMuch's picture

Lol I disengaged from BM a long time ago. She called my cell because we used it as a house phone since SO was working 2nd shift. She was trying to get me to side with her. Telling me ridiculous things about her life and past with SO. That was shut down right away. She no longer has my number because SO changed shifts so he's here when SD is. He tried 3rd shift but then SD claimed I was mean to her as soon as he left even though she was already asleep lol. So now he has to work 1st and I work 2nd so I don't have to see her often. She will rant about how bad her mom is or how her mom will buy her expensive shoes and take her out. All I ever say is I used to do those things for you but you ruined it, that's your dad's job. I barely even respond to her anymore. I mostly just walk away and laugh about it with SO because he knows just how BM is.

I know SD will never be a decent human being. She's ruined and there's no going back. BM made sure of that. At this point SO is just trying to find a way to keep her from killing herself or destroying any future grand children's lives. I see no hope.

SO broke down yesterday and asked me to help. He said he would give me total control and let me handle it my way. I told him I can't. I'll help but I won't step in. I called a family counselor for him and they will call him to schedule an appointment. I gave him what advice I could but that's all I'm willing to offer. I have stepped in once, before I disengaged. And everything was good. Kids we well behaved, to a point, but then SO didn't listen when I warned him not to send SD to BMs for a week. All hell broke loose. Instead of her saying she wished her mom was like me, always laughing, not a single problem she suddenly refused to come home and we had to involve the cops to get her from BMs because I was "abusing" SD. She got in the car and I said nothing, SO was going off. SD starts yelling at me calling me a whore, alcoholic, worthless, saying I never work (was late to work because of this lol) etc etc. I pulled over and looked at her. "You realize your mom has had over 20 sexual partners that she's told you about since breaking up with her fiancée this year, is an alcoholic and hasn't worked since she got pregnant with you, right?"

I've never looked at her the same since. She tries to blame me but SO always reminds her that she made those choices on her own.

I hate teenage girls.

Edited to say 10 sexual partners not 20. Although that wouldn't surprise me.