Last night we were out for a family diner, something we don't often do as a whole family. There was me, the other Grandma', my daughter (who is his mother), the other grandson who's 12 ( his younger brother), and the father, who is my daughter's husband. It was the 14 years old 8-grade school graduation, He ordered his food but he did not eat it and said he wasn't hungry yet he is usually a huge eater and has issues with weight. While we were eating our dinner he was fidgeting endlessly and eventually began to make fun of my accent (I have a foreign accent) I ignored this for a while but soon I told him to stop immediately, he got more aggressive and started to call me ''old lady'' and laughing as if it was all a big joke, the other Grandma' noticed his behavior and I told her I was going to ignore it, but I couldn't ignore it for long, I went off telling him that he was not amusing and how disrespectful he was ..etc....etc., eventually he stopped. His mother, my daughter, seemed to have been oblivious to the whole thing even tho she was sitting next to him, and his father seemed totally unaware of the whole situation...but I know that they heard what was going on. When we got back to his house he went straight to his bedroom, I went after him because I had a small present to give him for graduating ( I should have kept it). In his room, he had a hole punched in the wall, he said he did that when he was angry. I left their house feeling very upset and worried about what is going on in my daughter's life. At times, The younger brother is the target of his frustrations and anger and he'll go and destroy something the younger kid loves, he manipulates and does not protect & defend the 12 years old. This is affecting the younger one in such a negative way that he is convinced the older brother hates him and he has been spending a lot of time out of his house and over friends' house. The 14 year old is not all bad but I can see how destructive the dynamic in the family is. I was never allowed to discipline them, and if I want to correct them my daughter would have an argument with me, ...but I am not willing to be disrespected by this teen. I can only bring my concerns and frustrations up to a point because my daughter doesn't seem to be able to deal with it now and turns her frustrations on me, my conversation with her husband (the teen's father) are only superficial, to me he is useless, my daughter tells me she is stuck and that the marriage is over. I worry for my daughter and the 2 kids, especially the younger one. Any thoughts?
... View more