My husband and I fight about my daughter seeing her boyfriend

Gieneveve - posted on 07/19/2012 ( 6 moms have responded )

2

0

I need some advice. My 14 year old daughter is a terrific girl. She started dating a boy that was 16 last January. My husband was not happy about it at all. He is very strict and I am more lenient. They do not go to the same high school, but he lives in our neigborhood. He allowed them to see each other, but only on weekends and at our home. For some background on the boyfriend, he is not the nicest kid. He is kindof a troublemaker. He admitted to my daughter that he used to do and sell drugs and that he was a heavy partier. He goes to an alternative school because of his anger with authority as well.

I was more ok with their relationship and became quite close to my daughters boyfriend. He lost his mother at the age of 12 and I also lost my mother at the age of 14. He would call me Mom and I would take them everywhere. I didnt' really agree with them not being able to see each other more, so I would sometimes sneak my daughter to see him. My husband found out and became very angry. We got in 3 major fights about it and almost got divorced. The boy was upset about how my husband treated me and my daughter (yelling, breaking things)

My husband was really trying to be ok with the boy being around more and at the start of summer, he spent 4 days in a row with the family doing things. One night, he was arguing with my daughter outside our home (yelling about how he doesnt get to spend enough time with her alone) and my husband came outside and said he needed to leave. The boy went off on my husband and called him all sorts of names, cussed at him and got in his face. From that point on my husband has forbid her to see him.

My husband's whole family has blamed me for this. They say because I promoted the relationship and lied to my husband, that I deserved to be yelled at and that I should be ashamed. I just think that I would rather be involved than not know anything.

Now my daughter is sneaking around and texting, facetiming him and seeing him behind our backs. She has been intimate with him (her first) He has even talked to me and said that he wants to come an apologize to my husband and that he loves my daughter. Every post that I have read, says that parents should never forbid their children to see someone, but my husband will not budge and I fear that I might lose my daughter. Right now she is still talking to me, but she is angry. I don't really like how this guy treats her, but I fear that telling her she can't see him will only make her want to be with him more. What do I do????

Join Circle of Moms

Sign up for Circle of Moms and be a part of this community! Membership is just one click away.

Join Circle of Moms

6 Comments

View replies by

Jodi - posted on 07/23/2012

44

0

I would suggest that you and your husband get some couple's counseling and you should keep your personal family issues out of your greater/extended family. What your husband's whole family thinks is really quite irrelevant to your life. It seems to me that you and your husband are engaged in a pattern of behavior that does not allow for retreat or repair.

Is your husband your daughter's father? You do not refer to him that way and if he is not, then the relationships between you and your husband and you and your daughter are two tricky issues to be addressed.

As for your relationship with your daughter, keep her close and open an honest and empowering dialogue with her. Explain what you are trying to balance, in terms of your own interests vs. her interests. Talk with her about her education, her aspirations, her desires for a future, more than just this young man.

Your daughter's boyfriend probably felt very much at liberty to speak with your husband the way he did because your husband speaks to you and your daughter that way. Where do you think this kid got the idea that this kind of bad behavior was acceptable? He saw it and saw that it was tolerated.

Ultimately, your conflict is not about whether or not your daughter should see this young man nor whether this young man apologizes to your husband, or whether you husband's family is mad at you. Ultimately, you have a conflict with your husband and your system of interaction with him is the one that needs to be healed and repaired so that the two of you can take on the full responsibility of raising your 14 year old and whatever other children you have.

Kim - posted on 07/20/2012

2

0

Wow... While I have a similar situation, my husband and I had a united front and both agreed that our daughter dating an older boy was not allowed (she was 15 he was 18). I knew of some sneaking around that went on and didn't share that with her dad. It put me in an uncomfortable position and I had my daughter fess up to her dad. I will not keep secrets from him again. u need to communicate with each other and it should be 2 parents on the same side with a united front. Since you have already made concession for the daughter to see this boy I would be hard to stand firm now but it sounds like an unsafe enviroment for her to be in. You are the parents and should set boundries but that isn't the easiest thing to do. Good Luck!

Elizabeth - posted on 07/20/2012

178

8

If you didn't agree with it in the first place why did you help your daughter sneak around. And that was wrong. I don't think your husband should have acted like he did but he had a right to be angry. You betrayed his trust in you. You caused that your self. You are her mother not her best friend. Start acting like one. And support your husband with the decisions he makes. If you don't agree with them. Talk to him privately not sneak around behind his back. You sound like a child yourself instead of a grown woman with a husband and child that should know better then to act like that. You need to admit and apoligize for what you did wrong. And stand up to your daughter and the boy. If you know she is still sneaking around then you are still covering it up so your husband doesn't know. Are you her mother or a bad friend? Do you love your husband because helping your daughter sneak around behind his back is not the respect a loved one gives.

Kristi - posted on 07/20/2012

1,210

4

Wow! I'm a single mom and if my daughter's boyfriend got in my face like that it would be the last face he got in. His parent(s) (if he has a step mom) would be getting a phone call. I would also be pissed, big time, if my husband had lied and snuck my daughter around to be with her boyfriend, especially if he were an aggressive boy, who has been kicked out of school and is an admitted dealer and user. IMO, 14 is too young to have a 16 year old boyfriend, not to mention being sexually active, which she probably started off doing to avoid making him angry at some point. Forbidding a teen to do anything is not usually the best idea. But, you said yourself, you don't like the way he treats her and you sounded like you had positive feelings for this boy. It doesn't sound like a safe situation for her to be in at all. I might not forbid it, be you can sure as hell bet, I'm going to make it nearly impossible for her to see/communicate with him. She can't be sneaking too much if you know about it. I would be willing to bet he's sticking around, for now, because she is having sex with him and he can easily manipulate her. The thrill he gets from laughing at your husband because he has more control over her than your husband does, is just a bonus.

I dated "this guy" when I was in high school. He slaughtered my self esteem and broke my spirit, he pushed me into having sex with him and then would make me feel guilty whenever he didn't like something I said or thought or did. He turned me against my parents and then started isolating me from my friends, too. My saving grace was that we didn't go to the same school because that was the only time I was "allowed" to see my friends and I was friends with a lot of people, including guys. These guys treated me with respect and liked me just the way I was. I also turned 16 while we were going out so I got a PT job and being around such a wide variety of people and being praised by my bosses for a job well done, helped me begin to realize I was not in a good situation. Eventually I woke up and smelled the coffee. But from that point on, I was insecure and had a hard time "knowing my place" when in other relationships, of which there weren't many. I regret, to this day, ever getting involved with him. My parents didn't like it but they, too, didn't stop me from seeing him. I can't say what I would have done if they tried harder to stop me. But, having that experience I know what I'll do if my daughter happens to fall into this kind of bad company.

I'm sorry if any of this seemed harsh and I don't know if any of it will be remotely helpful, but I will keep you in my prayers and hope for a peaceful resolution for your family. Good luck and hang in there.

Pam - posted on 07/19/2012

52

0

I agree with you that forbidding her to see him unless he is harming her in some way will be a disaster. As long as she and you feel safe with him in your daughters life, than supporting her is what she needs. Your husband is being a typical father to his daughter and being over protective, but he needs to back off a bit and let your daughter make her own decisions and learn from her mistakes on her own. Hope this helps.

Kristin - posted on 07/19/2012

619

0

I think you all need to have a heart to heart talk and you all need to be able to voice your concerns in a calm manner. No 16 year old boy should have disrespect for any adult let alone the parents of the girl he is dating, At 14 your daughtrer is too young to be caught up in abusive men bullshit and deserves to be happy and young. I personally feel that 14 is way to young to date or to have sex. I have a 16 year old son who still doesnt want to date because he wants to enjoy his teenage years. My son would never in a million years consider being disrespectful to anyone let alone an adult, he is not perfect but he is a pretty good kid with a good head on his shoulder. I dont think it is right of your husbands family to come down on you for the bf i think you have a generous heart and felt sorry for the kid who lost his mother. But this boy needs some serious help with anger and he needs to start dealing with his emotions in a positive manner. If he truly loved your daughter he would try to improve his life and not argue with her parents. Maybe ask the boy if he would be willing to go to counselling to deal with his issues so that he can be with your daughter? With my son I am pretty honest and open and when he does something I dont approve of we talk and I let him kn ow the consequences and let him make a choice from there. Maybe you and your husband can design some consequences of whether or not your daughter wants to continue seeing this guy. Ie if she continues to see him she will lose cell phone privledges. Also let your daughter know that you love her and only want her to have the best and to be treated with respect. Maybe do not forbid her to see him but just tell her that you dont agree with the way he treats her and let her gradually come to her own conclusions