WWYD?

Hey so i don’t really know who to ask hence why im putting it here. Easter holidays are starting tomorrow and my 3 year old is gonna be off for 2 weeks. Me and her dad aren’t together and we live long distance (over 100 miles apart). We originally agreed that he could have her for the first week and I’ll have her for the second. Apart from that, he doesn’t see her like at all maybe apart from occasions. The last time he saw her was for the day on her birthday back in Feb. Now i don’t wanna be that mom who stops him from seeing his child or anything however, I can’t help but feel a bit uneasy about leaving her there for a week for a few reasons. 1. The most important one is because everytime she has gone there for a long period of time, she always comes back ill. Last time she came back with hand foot and mouth and i was left to deal with it. 2. Her dad won’t actually be the one looking after majority of the time as he doesn’t come back home from work until after 10pm so from what he’s said, she would basically be passed around the family. 3. Leading on from number 2, he lives with his mom and sister who will be the main ones essentially looking after her. I don’t have a great relationship with his mom and she has threatened social services on me every single time we’ve had a disagreement (nothing to do with any sort of safeguarding concerns etc) and his sister always leaves drugs in the house (we had an incident where my daughter nearly swallowed a pill because it was left unattended and had i not been there to catch it in time it would’ve led to a hospital trip and God knows what else). There’s also been a few times where they have left my daughter without so much as a shower for days, leaving her in her pj’s for days etc. 4. I would say this is the least concerning point but still a slight worry is that I’ve finally gotten my daughter into a routine where she goes to sleep early and wakes up early (she is very much a night owl) and I really wanna keep this routine going and she is starting full time nursery straight after the easter break and we won’t have any time to get her back into a routine before then. His family always lets her stay up past midnight and i am slightly worried that she’ll come back out of the routine that i’ll need to fix again which will make her nursery routine more difficult. But again, this one isn’t as big of a concern compared to the others and is also fixable. Idk, i don’t want to seem like a bad mom for saying no and i of course want what’s best for my child but my mommy senses are going off everytime i think about letting her stay for the week. Not to mention it’s also expected that i’m expected to drop her off and pick her up (i’m halfway through my pregnancy and don’t drive whereas they do) and if i don’t bring her to them then they don’t bother to see unless it’s for her birthday. Am i in the wrong if i don’t let her go? If i should, any advice on how to handle it and set boundaries so that everyone is happy and comfortable and most importantly, my daughter is actually being well taken care of?
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Your daughter is only 3 and you are her comfort. The dad should really be making an effort of coming to where you are. Book a hotel or somewhere to stay and spend that time to bond with his daughter knowing that if she ever needs her mom, you are much closer than 100m. This should not be seen as you being selfish but more for the Childs “comfort”. She's only a baby after all!

Personally i wouldn’t let her go and i think it would be unsettling for her c

Number 3 is a big no no from another mums perspective & a major red flag when it comes to the well-being of a child 🚩 Exposure to drugs, staying in pyjamas without showering & threats of social services, nope. Doesn’t sit right with me 👎🏼 If I were you & this happened, I’d have stopped his mum & sister seeing my child long ago. The staying up late is also a bigger concern than you think because sleep is so essential for young children, for their development & their general health. The fact that your daughter’s dad or family don’t make the effort to come pick her up is selfish, but actually in your favour because you don’t need to make the journey. Especially whilst pregnant. Plan loads of activities with your daughter over the holidays, keep her safe with you & enjoy quality mummy daughter time before the new arrival 🫶🏻

Don’t send her. If he wants to spend time with her that week (or if his family do) tell them they are welcome to come and pick her up for day trips or come and stay at a hotel locally for a couple of nights and take her out. If he really cared about seeing her then he would have taken at least a few days of work to spend with her. Not be working every day until 10pm. Crazy.

Personally I wouldn’t let her go… he should be making the effort to come to you for a few days so that you can keep her in her daily routine as much as possible whilst monitoring their interactions and building their relationship. Only seeing her for 1 day every few months is not enough to know your daughter and that’s his fault, not yours!! I personally wouldn’t let my child stay in a home with drugs in it or where they are neglecting her by not keeping her clean or putting her to bed at a reasonable time! Stand your ground and go with what your gut is telling you… you are her mum and have every right to say “no, she is not staying but you are welcome to come and visit” xx

thanks everyone, i think i just needed reassurance that i was doing the right thing because i know they’ll try and make it seem like im trying to be a bitter bm or im trying to take control 💕

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