Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:No teen can say IHY to me because it is disrespectful and inappropriate. He can feel whatever he wants but absolutely cannot express those feelings to me in my house. If anyone were to call me on the phone and say those things I would hang up so why would I tolerate that in my own home? I do not love the behavior of someone who is saying these kinds of things, and I feel no obligation to do extra things for him. Legally I am required to provide my child with food and shelter but nothing else. My mother made my sister wear the same shirt and pants every single day for an entire school year.
Sad. I feel bad for your kids that they are growing up with an automaton. Your sister would have been better off in an orphanage.
Also, I hope you realize that your mother's behavior towards your sister was abusive and completely inappropriate.
FWIW, I have no relationship with my father. He has not met his grandchildren. Why? Because it was obvious to me growing up that he felt he had no obligation to me other than to provide food and shelter, but nothing else. He provided a legal minimum, but no love. Once I left home for college, I never came back. I keep in touch with a few of my teachers who were incredibly kind and supportive as I was growing up, but not my own father.
With my own children, I have made sure not to repeat the mistakes of my father. I want a close, happy family that spans multiple generations. It appears you do not.
Anonymous wrote:I have read in a few parenting books that it’s okay for kids to say “I hate you” because it’s legitimately what they are feeling and it’s okay to express feelings. But it’s also a hurtful thing to say so I think maybe it’s valid to say they can’t be hurtful like that even if some parenting experts agree.
Point is OP, I don’t think that you don’t have to tell your kids to not say they hate you. Depending on how angry they are it might not be a battle I choose. I would say “that’s incredibly hurtful and I need to walk away from this situation before I say something I regret” or something like that.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:No teen can say IHY to me because it is disrespectful and inappropriate. He can feel whatever he wants but absolutely cannot express those feelings to me in my house. If anyone were to call me on the phone and say those things I would hang up so why would I tolerate that in my own home? I do not love the behavior of someone who is saying these kinds of things, and I feel no obligation to do extra things for him. Legally I am required to provide my child with food and shelter but nothing else. My mother made my sister wear the same shirt and pants every single day for an entire school year.
Sad. I feel bad for your kids that they are growing up with an automaton. Your sister would have been better off in an orphanage.
Anonymous wrote:No teen can say IHY to me because it is disrespectful and inappropriate. He can feel whatever he wants but absolutely cannot express those feelings to me in my house. If anyone were to call me on the phone and say those things I would hang up so why would I tolerate that in my own home? I do not love the behavior of someone who is saying these kinds of things, and I feel no obligation to do extra things for him. Legally I am required to provide my child with food and shelter but nothing else. My mother made my sister wear the same shirt and pants every single day for an entire school year.
Anonymous wrote:Just express the truth: “I love you and I always will. Even when you’ve just told me you hate me and I’m furious with you, I don’t stop loving you.”
On a different board here on dcum, a teacher once posted something like “The kids who are the hardest to love often need love the most.” She was speaking about students, but it struck a cord with me. When my child says she hates me, she’s hurting so badly that she needs really strong words to express her anger/frustration/powerlessness. She’s saying the worst thing she can think of because that’s the emotional state she’s in. She needs my help and guidance, and perhaps, comforting, even though she’s not ready for it yet. We all need to know that no matter what, we’ve always got mom’s love to fall back on.