thanks very much, @Bree-RO! i will start my thread soon and I also look forward to getting advice from the community. this is very helpful, i feel better already actually . Thanks. :) ... View more

Thanks for this, @Ngaio-RO. Yes, it sounds quite possible that he is angry with the situation, and yes, I am a constant in his life (maybe to his mind, constantly on his case). My husband does try his best to keep in  touch regularly with him and with my two other children. Our situation is actually much better now, compared to before, when we were in another country and he was here in Oz. We had to live with that for about 4 years, with my husband coming home to be with us for about 4 weeks every 6 or 8 months. So our current status (being in the same country now and getting to be with him every 2 or 4 weeks) is better than before.   I will start a thread about our situation and I thank you in advance for helping me out. Just being able to connect with other parents already makes me feel less burdened and worried. Thank you very much.      ... View more

Hi, @Sophi-RO, thanks for the welcome. I'm glad I found this community. I'm really at my wits end with parenting my middle child and I hope to learn some things to help me with my situation.    Most recently, before school started, I talked to him in a friendly and light manner and he responded well to that. When we are both in good terms with each other, he is really a loving and affectionate boy and he responds well to love and affection. Especially if it comes from his dad. I observe that he is more attentive and he listens more to his dad, especially when it's a tough talk or another problematic situation. But his dad isnt with us too often given the nature of his work in another state (and time zone).    Maybe I will start a new topic and get help from other parents who may have been in a similar situation.    Thanks so much. ... View more

Hi, I'm new here. I have 3 kids, ages 19,16, and 14.    Parenting is really stressful, so I try to de-stress by having some alone time, doing a little yoga, meditating and praying in private, having a little treat once in a while.   What led me to ReachOut today is my issue with my middle son. We have been having conflicts more than usual due to his behaviours and i think I've tried every thing I could possibly do to keep him in line, to discipline him, to teach him what's wrong and right, to think about his actions and their consequences. My husband(who works in another state and comes home every so often) and two other kids tell me that the problem is not me, as they are also witness to our conflicts. But sometimes I think about what I'm doing or not doing that is making him behave in upsetting ways. My situation with my son is getting to be more and more difficult and I think i need help with him. i have contacted his mentor at school about this and i have yet to receive a reply.   I guess what I can say to parents who are about to enter teen years is extend your patience. It's hard to do sometimes, but sometimes that's all you can do.   The best thing about weekends for me is I get to sleep a little longer than usual :)  ... View more