Name: Dianne
Alberta, CAN
Number of kids: 2
Ages of kids: 4, 9
Problem: My husband and 9 (almost 10) year old daughter, rarely get along. They seem to know which buttons to press to really get to each other. My husband will not tolerate any form of rebellion and my daughter insists on rebelling. She tells me she doesn't think her father loves her. He tells me he's an awful father and had no business having a child. I've been acting as the "peace maker" for a long time now and sometimes I lose my cool. Does any one have the same problem and how do you deal with it?
Solution submitted by Simlife from Northstreet, MI: My daughter is 11 and 1/2 and her father talks to her using a tone that is very upsetting to the daughter and me. He says things like "she never" or "she always" every time he talks to her, if you can call it talking. Criticizing always is more like it. I have talked to him about it with no success. My daughter has made comments like, you should divorce him mom, he is such a jerk. That leaves me speechless, I don't know what to say. I know sometimes I say too much but I want her to understand that people are different with different personalities, likes and dislikes and they each handle different situations in different ways. No one parent is always right or wrong, there are two sides to everything. I try never to say anything against her father and hope he does the same for me. Anyway I hope this letter helps you know you are not alone.
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