NURSEJENNY
New Member
My name is Jenny and I'm the single mother of a 15 yo son with ADHD and ODD who was diagnosed at 5. My daughter is 2 yo and has shown no symptoms of anything so far. Neither father is involved in their child's life. My mother is wishy-washy in her support and also has had Parkinson's for 18 years. My father passed when I was 17 (huge void=teen pregnancy) and I have twin brothers who aren't family-oriented at all. Essentially I have no support system other than my close friends. I work 2 nights a week Fri/Sun or Sat/Sun in order to receive full-time pay (known as weekend package). J (my son) was discharged from his psychiatrist's care in June for doing so well off medication but this summer has been a disaster. Since he chased off my babysitter he's been watching his sister since she was 8 months old. Last month he stole my spare car and left her home alone at 12:00am to joyride with his friends. Subsequently he was pulled over by the police and I filed Operating Without Owner's Consent charges since this was the 3rd time he'd stolen my car. He went to Detention overnight and is now on informal probation which is amounting to a big joke. He's struggling in school both with behavior and grades. He's defiant the minute I turn my back and has such a flippant attitude about the trouble he's getting into. I have no one to watch them at night so he continues to watch her but I snuck home tonight to check on them to find him smoking in the house and reports from the neighbor that kids were outside my house. I can't afford to work during the day d/t daycare costs and the fact I put him in a better school district on the other side of town leaving me with the transportation responsibility. I feel so stuck. I feel so alone. My mom would watch my 2 yo if my son didn't come as he manipulates her constantly while he's there. Do I send her over there to keep her safe and leave him home alone to get into trouble? I have NO idea what to do. Guess I just needed to vent....