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Are all skids so infantile like sd?

stepmominhiding's picture

Checking because it wouldn't let me post yesterday,  I'll pay in the comments if this is successful 

TwoOfUs's picture

Not sure what behaviors you've seen...but, yes. In my experience...my skids were all incredibly immature and infantile. 

OSD. Wouldn't look servers in the eye or order off the menu at 16...made her dad order for her. Would "ask" for things in the grocery store by pointing to them and saying the word over and over again...at SIXTEEN. Was still punching, scratching, and pinching her two younger siblings and fighting for the front seat...at SIXTEEN. 

SS. Crumbled his food into little bits at the dinner table and absent-mindedly twirled his hair...again, as a teenager. Super forgetful and just kind of dumb, in general. Now is 20 and can't keep a job...quits jobs before having something else lined up. Very coddled by Mommy. 

YSD. Sucked her thumb (I'm not joking) until she was 12 or 13. 

 

I remember once my mom, after witnessing OSD's behavior while out to eat and then later at our house...not ordering food, picking fights with her younger siblings...she said: 

"My God, TwoOfUs. You were never perfect...and I wasn't a perfect parent. But I distinctly remember leaving you to babysit your sisters when you were OSD's age because your dad and I had a meeting. You called the office to tell me that A_____ (my sister who was 3 at the time) had been running a high fever all day. I immediately jumped in and said: 'I'll be right home!' but you told me not to worry about it...you'd taken her into our family doctor, she had strep, and you were just wondering if I could swing by the pharmacy and the grocery store to pick up the prescription and some bread for the dinner you'd made. That was at the same age as this kid who literally can't say a complete sentence...." 

 

So...yes. My experience is that all skids were majorly delayed or stunted socially, intellectually, and emotionally. 

 

 

Areyou's picture

Yes. My skids are super infantile. Needy, entitled, cries and sulks to  get their way, manipulates, whines, screams, are self centered and they are teenagers. It’s because their biological parents are doing a bad job of raising them. 

ndc's picture

I wonder if this is a thing where skids regress over time. My SO's kids seem pretty age appropriate to me, but they're still pretty young (5 and 3).  They can actually do some chores (pick up toys, put plates in dishwasher, help with laundry), their table manners are ok with a few lapses (they can use utensils and don't throw food, fight, etc.), they rarely eat out but when they do the older one can order for herself and the younger one will engage with the server and answer questions.  They are a bit entitled, but no more whiny, sulky or demanding than most preschoolers I've known.  

Do these teenage skids with the infantile behavior just never progress beyond preschool behavior, do they regress, or what?  I guess I need to watch for the warning signs.

 

iamlosingit's picture

SS 10.5 (11 in not even two months) wasn't so bad during the first two years that visitation was established.  Now he's HORRIBLY regressed: baby talk and 'cutesy voices', doing stupid gestures randomly like twirling slowly in front of DH, flopping arms and "cutesy voice" (it's like he's pretending he's a toddler or something), never had chores, doesn't know how to make any type of food himself no matter if it's microwave popcorn, sandwich, bowl of cereal, nothing.  He waits to be served.  At least DH FINALLY stopped cutting SS food for him at the table and taught ss how to use a knife.  And SS stops sitting at the table with his mouth open waiting to be "fed". (don't ask...thank you BM) 

SacrificialLamb's picture

My OSD is in her 40's and is still acts like she is in junior high....catty gossip about other people, changes the timbre of her voice when talking to her father trying to sound childlike, constant complaining about how the world is against her, a perpetual victim, no insight or deep thoughts of any kind, rationalizes her poor behavior. She is a product of being over-coddled and told how beautiful and wonderful she was. 

Lemon65's picture

My SD is 11, I am not sure if her behavior is appropriate or not because I only remember how I was at that age and I was pretty independent. She behaves maturely most of the time but she lacks critical thinking skills, won't do anything for herself when she is with us and doesn't clean up after herself. She also likes to brag on herself, has some pretty silly (embarrassing) behavior sometimes and is insufferable to play games with (she can't stand losing). I think most of it can be attributed to her total lack of common sense and self-awareness. She is always making messes because she won't pay attention to what she is doing. She has gotten a little better over the course of the past year or so, but I think BM and BM's family have coddled SD for far too long (SO is guilty of it, too).

caitlinj's picture

Yes skid (5) still eats with her hands at meals regularly and uses a high chair. She can’t (or won’t) grasp how to use a knife and fork. She wants to be pushed around in a stroller on walks and he and dh allows it. She uses baby talk and throws tantrums regularly if she doesn’t get her way. She cannot tie her shoes.

marblefawn's picture

Psychologists say trauma causes people to get "stuck" at the age they are when the trauma occurs. They can mature, apparently, but it's harder to mature when trauma interrupts natural growth.

When I look at my family, I can sort of see that. But maybe I just see it because psychologists say it's there.

Any thoughts?

My husband left his wife when SD was 6-ish. I've never seen a grown woman so oddly physical with people (not me, of course). She's coquettish, particularly with males. I don't know if that's because she's pretty and could use that routine to win what she wants or if she's just stuck in a child's manner of getting attention.

Or maybe all this childish behavior we see is just a product of the new helicopter parenting style?

 

stepmominhiding's picture

There's been no trauma in my skid's life.  Dh and BM were never together while sd was alive.  They broke up when BM was like 3 months preg. 

stepmominhiding's picture

Sd still asks at 13 if she HAS to eat her veggies. And when she does,  she makes the sourest face (like a baby eating spinach). And ends up crying.  I can cook them a hundred different ways,  i can make them with a hundred different sauces,  roast them,  grill them,  saute them,  blanch them,  steam them, blend them in a smoothie, give them to her raw with sauce to dip ... doesn't matter.  She has the same reaction. It can be corn,  potatoes,  green beans,  carrots,  okra, spinach,  what ever vegetable you can think of, what ever way you can think to serve it,  she reacts the same. 

She's cries over everything.  Literally,  she touched a spoon that was in hot water,  she threw it and screamed.  Mee and dh loved over her hands, no red marks.  Then she told us that it SCARED her, it didn't really burn,  but she's never going to cook again....

She won't learn to ride a bike because she's afraid to fall. Dh even offered to take her to a trail that IF she fell, she'd fall in the grass. 

fairyo's picture

Oh my-you are describing my XOSD- and she is now 42!  The only way you can deal with this behaviour is not to challenge it, because this is what she is provoking. She has learned that being a baby gets her attention, and that is what she gets.

With the vegetables, I would stop serving them. She won't die because she doesn't eat cabbage- she'll look at her plate and have nothing to fight over.

Same with the 'accidents'- I don't even do this with my little grandkids- if they scream you do a quick summary: is their head still on their shoulders? Answer yes? No worries! Ignore the drama.

She hates the idea of falling from her bike? Let her walk then. Sell the bike- give it away to the poor kid down the road. Your post has brought back memories of what I had to put up with from TheX's offspring and in turn from his grandkids. It is learned behaviour and if you allow it (ie, buy into these mini-dramas) it will continue.

 

stepmominhiding's picture

I have learned to disengage, not totally, i still have to step in when needed (when dh is working and i need to pick her up)  but I'm not playing these mind games. Dh plays them with her.  But i just leave it alone.  I still can't help but make wtf faces are she's doing the things.  She even asks "why are you looking at me le that?" When im in complete shock/disgust of what she's doing/ how she's acting. I can hold my tongue, but occasionally i can't help my face.  Of course i just tell her,  the light got in my eyes/ i have a headache/  some other excuse. Like once dh told her she had to eat some vegetable, so she'd "drink" water between each bite... well, what she was doing was sitting get good in the cup. I couldn't help but to make a disgusted face over that.  When she was 12 started crying over having to take medicine (dh bought both the liquid version and a teensy tiny tablet version so she could choose which one). She didn't want either,  "the liquid is yucky" (bubblegum flavor), "the pill is too hard to swallow".  I couldn't help but be shocked over how insane that fight was. 

Rags's picture

I never ignored this crap.  If asked why I was looking at the person like that... I answered "Because you being ridiculous, immature, and nasty. It is pathetic. That is why I am looking at you with this look."

Lather, rinse, repeat.

fairyo's picture

Although I didn't know her then, this is exactly what TheXOSD must have been like, because she was still like this when I met her in her late 30s. I couldn't believe her immature, childish behaviour but everyone esle seemed to accept the continual drama.

Trust me she knows those faces, I wouldn't even respond when she challenges you about the looks either. I would just find something else to say completely unrelated and bring the attention back to yourself. It must be so hard not to slap her.

I'm not really the best person to advise you on this, because in the end I couldn't compete with this obnoxious child/woman and her Disney Dad- and I left...

Dogmom126's picture

we taught fsd7 to pitch in with chores and cleaning up after herself, and she will usually ask to help if she sees us doing housework. however she is INCAPABLE of playing by herself. If she's not glued to her ipad, she is up our butts 24/7!!!  she has a huge room full of toys and games that she doesnt use. ignoring her does not work as she gets more and more annoying. I remember occupying myself all the time as a kid, my parents were involved but did not entertain me 24/7. what gives???

caitlinj's picture

They only act that way if 

a. they aren't being raised and parented correctly.

b. they have some sort of neurological or psychological disability.

It's not normal for a child to throw tantrums or act that way after a certain age. Very odd.

stepmominhiding's picture

Her mother won't get her evaluated, and DH legally isn't allowed to,  but he only gets her eowe and Thursday evenings, so i don't really know when he would be able to even if he was allowed

Rags's picture

He is her dad. On his time he can get her all of the medical, behavioral, etc... care he wants.  BM can flip a bitch on him doing it but there really isn't much she can do about it.  If she were to drag this issue to court, I can't see a Judge doing much about it other than either telling BM to STFU and focus on her time with the kid, or at worst admonishing dad for not including BM in the process.   But there really isn't anything that a family law Judge can do about a father engaging professional care and support for his child.

LucaRusso's picture

Interesting opinions, I think a lot of things depends how you educate your kids. I saw in my life a lot of kids ( I have worked in school and have studied 12 years hah... actually I had practice at school when I was a student) and to be honest there are kids at 12, who are more responsable than others at 20 , or there are teenageres at 16/18 who are so infantile in mind and are not ready for real word yet. Guys, if you are interested in finding a good baby seat/chair then you can check https://babyjoggerstrollers.com.au/collections/compact-lightweight-trave...

Rags's picture

Usually.... when they are infants.... or at the latest when they are toddlers.

Any other time than that is due to shitty parenting.  After the toddler stage, that crap ends at the very first incidence.  Anything else is failed parenting.

IMHO of course.