Feeling defeated

I have SS and SD, Mom took off 2 years ago right before Christmas because she was caught cheating. Since leaving she has had minimal involvement she was coming for visits which every single visit ended up with one or both of the kids having to be taken to urgent care and both kids either shutting down or acting out in the worst possible ways. We luckily have been able to get both of them into therapy to find out what was happening and a few months ago they both decided they no longer wanted to go and see her due to how she was treating them and the things she was telling them. Since then they have not been seeing her, things started to get better their behaviors were better they were doing better at school. They asked if they could start calling me Mom and I truly felt like I was helping them and things were only going to continue to improve. There is still communication between the kids and their mom. They still don't want to see her but she is telling them that she's going to be taking parenting courses and improve her self in the hopes that they will be comfortable visiting her again. Well last night me and SS got into a argument about his homework. Nothing major he just refuses to show work even though I explained to him that he needed to show work because his homework answers were coming out wrong. We have had minor arguments or disagreements due to him wanting to talk back or him not wanting to listen but yesterday just escalated to the point where he said that he wished he could go live with his mom. Me and his dad have too many rules and we don't let him have fun and we don't leave him alone and even though he wasn't really being taken care of at his moms at least she gave him everything that he wanted and he didn't have to do anything to earn it. Like I get it I was a kid once I hated when my parents told me to do something or when I misbehaved I lost privileges so I'm trying to be understanding but hearing him say that just hurts so much. For two years we've been fighting to get them all the help they could possibly need and get them to a situation where they feel safe and it's not enough and I don't know what more to do. Maybe I'm over thinking maybe he was just saying it too upset me because I upset him I don't know but it just sucks that I've done absolutely everything to be the best mom I can be and give him everything I possibly can.

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What is ss and sd?

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Step son and step daughter

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ok how old?

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10 and 5

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It sounds like he’s just angry- when kids feel safe with caregivers they unfortunately also feel safe to fling their anger towards those same caregivers bc they feel secure in that love and know it will still be there- even if they say hurtful things. Consider yourself a container for him to store feelings he cant hold within himself. You can try to give them back to him by just validating that he feels frustrated and wishes he could live somewhere without any rules.
(Be sure to also say that you have rules in your house to help him succeed and keep him safe.)

Im sorry he hurt you, though. Sending your bruised heart a big hug.

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Have you maybe tried talking to him agen !! Being a step mom is a hard job my Ss calls me mom now and refers to biological by name we’ve had our arguments we’re he thinks the grass is greener because she doesn’t give a shit with no boundaries but now he’s much older and a hard worker he understands exactly why we had rules boundaries and morals xxxx

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I salute you for taking on those babies but I’m guessing that’s the only thing he can throw to upset you I’m sure he didn’t mean it though he nos you love him I’m sure xx

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Kids can say such hurtful things. If he acted out this way all the time I’d say dig deeper but from what it sounds like that this isn’t an all the time occurrence so it seems more like he feels comfortable to actively express his emotions. He’s going through things he may not even understand. Just keeping being loving kind and caring. And just remember that if he feels comfortable enough to let his emotions out while in a a vulnerable state then he loves you and knows you love him. Good luck momma ❤️❤️

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we've had multiple discussions about how words can hurt people. I'm the one that usually takes him to therapy and the one that helps him with his feeling journals and things like that so he's very Mindful and very aware of the power one's words hold. It's just frustrating because he's extremely smart and that's the first thing he goes to. And this just happened last night but today he's acting like nothing happened and he is refusing to acknowledge why I seem distant but is bothered by the fact that I'm not doting on him and his sister like I normally would because I said I needed a little quiet time to myself.

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thank you. This is the third time he has said this since I've been in the picture. The first two times though were when visiting was still occurring. it's been over a year without any incident so it did seem extremely out of the blue and I think that's what made it hurt even more that things have just been getting better and better and this was just a low blow.

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You sound very intelligent & caring, so I think u will find ur words to convey how he hurt ur feelings. Since his math answers are wrong, I'd like to share some of my thinking. I have dyscalculia. I never knew growing up, & would get tests back & my mistakes were glaring after I'd looked at my work. So, just thinking, maybe u could position showing his work (I'm not suggesting u use any labels) as a way to see the way his brain works. My son has dyslexia & I tell my son that the more shares they give & showing their work really helps Adults understand their unique ways of thinking. I've used this example & ask:
Me: What's ur favorite fruit?
Kid/Adult: (Answers)
Me: Now imagine describing that to someone that's never tasted it before. Imagine how a younger person would use their language/knowledge to describe it, especially when they are learning themselves. (My fav fruit is a pear..to me it tastes like warm sugary sand, is not too sweet, & can be very juicy like a burst of rain water in ur mouth.) Hugs.

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thank you. We had him assessed due to how much he was struggling especially with his reading and we found out that he does have ADHD. He is taking additional tutoring as well as participating in homework club. We have a bunch of different types of counting material for him, fidget Spinners he's just always disliked having to show his work because he sees that as additional work. He doesn't like being told that he was wrong which is something we've been working on with him

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Kudos to you & Dad 🤩
When I was growing up dyscalculia was not really known. Learning disabilities are still being studied, ADHD included.
So, growing up I just failed math tests, would triple-check, & still fail. I worked so hard that I made finance my career; I work with numbers/ $figures all day.
Conversely, my sons get the math problems right without showing work. So I told the teachers I was not going to "fight" it; I wasn't going to have homework be this tug-of-war. I personally don't believe in homework bc to me, it fosters this mentality to do more work afterhours when that should've been done in the classroom/workplace. If homework is done, it should be for bonus credit (a.k.a. overtime). But I've never told my kids this; I just try to advocate for my sons when I can (help them learn how to respectfully speak up when they don't show their work).
One not liking to be told they are wrong is probably human nature. The manner with which One handles it is maturity.
Keep leading by example, Queen!

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thank you im sure this will pass just not a great feeling at the moment

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When he’s in a positive mood and you’re having a good day, I would ask him about his comments. Just to see if there’s any validity or whether he said it in the heat of the moment. I wouldn’t critique him for his outburst, but I would express that you felt very sad and upset by the conversation as you try to be there for him and support him. Sounds like he was just angry… and speaking about it when you’re both good and happy would probably be a good way of healing the situation. But sounds like you’re doing a great job.

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your definitely right

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I understand things get said in arguments that hurt but deep down I think you should feel honored. He trusts you so much he feels safe getting angry and telling you how he truly feels. He may not have done it in the way you hoped but it’s progress. He’s trying to let you know he feels too much pressure to preform the right way right now, not that he actually wants to live with mom. Validate him, ask him how to make him feel better, then you can address his behavior if needed. Seems like you’re doing better than you realize.

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thank you. We have talked about that argument since then. He did apologize to me and his dad, he admits he said it because he knew that would be the thing to hurt us the most and in that moment he was hurt because he felt that he wasn't meeting expectations that we had for him. So we just had to sit down and tell him that the only expectations we have are for him to be his happiest and best self. Us telling him to do something or us giving him corrections are just going to be tools so when he's older he can use them to his advantage to better himself however he feels necessary but that's our job as his parents. Luckily he understood everything and said that he doesn't want to live with his mom again he just said that out of anger and first to please not send him to her and to please not tell her what he said because he doesn't want her bothering him.

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I’m glad it sounds like you all had a great conversation! I hope it’s leaving you all feeling better and more connected!

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it was and it definitely made me feel a lot better. I just wish that wasn't the go-to.

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yea it definitely sucks when someone’s first instinct is to lash out but it seems like you guys are doing a great job teaching him not to. You’ve already taught him what a lot of adults cannot do: Have a conversation of what went wrong, why, and how to move forward for different outcomes. In the process, he communicated his needs and apologized for hurting you. Being a kind person isn’t a perfection it’s a long hard practice.

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