Living next door to my neighbor kids these past...7 years (holy crap) has certainly had me ready to rip my hair out more than once...it's amazing how much these kids do NOT know. I'd use the phrase that they're being 'raised' very loosely, oh they know to take showers and get dressed and cook simple things, but I doubt anybody would believe how much common sense stuff they do NOT know because nobody ever bothered to teach them earlier, and when we try to tell them now it's just in one ear and out the other.

The oldest boy, when he was 13 and 14, liked to clean the house, that was how he'd keep himself entertained, but he couldn't figure out WHY you're not supposed to use cleaning products like Pledge to wash your hands with since it cleans!

The girl is 16, in high school, and her knowledge about school's purpose is to go and play games, learning is boring so she'll never need it, so why should she have to work on anything? My mother asked her when she gets her own place (ha ha) and gets cable, how is she going to read the payments to know she's not getting cheated? She don't know and that's the end of that. In fact all the kids despise having to do any kind of school-related work, they were never even taught the sounds of words, so I don't know how they ever learned to read on the first grade basis they are now at 12 and 16, and they think they're doing fine because they can 'fake' it.

They're always complaining that they're bored, well two of them don't care much for TV, they don't have a lot of friends, are often by themselves, and don't like to do anything. My mother explained if they learned how to read right, and they read books they wouldn't be bored because they'd have something to do. Now if you were bored out of your mind EVERY SINGLE DAY, you'd think you'd jump at the idea of doing something different, but their response: BORING! So they'd rather be bored by doing nothing than be bored by doing something.

It is frustrating having to talk to these kids more than just a 'hi' because it quickly becomes apparent how much they've been failed by everyone around them, and they're too set in their ways to learn any differently now, in fact they'll fight tooth and nail against anybody's suggestions.

It's funny. I read your post title, and thought of my son's cousins, and was going to post what makes me mad...and while it is different than your example, the way they are "raised" makes me mad as hell.

They were just here last night, and I am really stunned at how bad it has gotten. The youngest (age five) is praised for being racist. I suspected as much recently, but last night, I was sick over it. He is literally praised by calling Mexicans bad names. It is just crazy because at age five how does a kid know enough to even be able to pick out Mexicans in a crowd? He is obviously being taught that on some level. He sees a car that is rusted and says, "That must be driven by a lazy Mexican." Makes me sick.

Also, he tells stories/lies, and they eat it up. He will look at a truck or building and say he owns it, and tell stories about it and they praise him for being so creative.

Their two older kids get to do NOTHING and have no life, and are not even taken to free events in town. They just exist. The only time their older boy is praised is by talking about how much more muscular he is than my son (who is nine months older). That pisses me off for two reasons. One, it is just cruel to my son, who does feel bad about not having a larger body. And two, my son and his cousin were at an event two summers ago that I took them to that had a bungee thing where it was a tug of war where a large bungee was attached to their waists in large inflatable device, and they were so evenly matched, that the guys running it were ready to tell them to call it a tie after several minutes. My son won. So, the whole theme they pride themselves on in my son being so weak compared to his cousin, is b.s.

Makes you wonder sometimes if needing a license to be a parent isn't such a bad idea, of course the problem with that is EVERYBODY knows how to pass the test, it's what you do afterwards that's the problem.

I forgot a few other things that should've gone in the OP.


Another thing is, these kids know to take showers but they don't know why you have to brush your teeth, especially more than once a day and they drink soda morning noon and night, hate to think what their teeth are going to be like in a few years.

Another thing about them that annoys the hell out of me, okay I get it that boys like cars, boys like to drive, but why do we always have to hear about every single piece of equipment in a car or why do we always have to be told that we need to take our car out of town or else it won't run as well, and be asked every single time they come over why my mother doesn't like to drive and when I'm going to get my license. If the only thing you can talk about all day every day is cars, it's obvious that something is severely lacking somewhere.

Which goes to my next complaint about the oldest boy, when he was younger, anything that ever came out of his mouth was what car he was going to get with heated bucket seats and he was going to get gold chains to wear around his neck and get an older girlfriend that his father had no business knowing about, and get a bigger TV, get a better car, get a new computer, get a new stereo, get this, get that, blah blah blah, materialism to the 10th power.

I don't even know the words to describe my frustration with putting up with him every single day. When I was 13 I could talk about books I'd read, movies and TV shows I'd seen, what music I liked (his only choice of music is the whatever the hell kind of rap they call it every other word is either an obscenity or a death threat against a woman cuz he ain't gonna pay child support), about stories I wanted to write, places I wanted to go, people I wanted to meet, what I wanted to be when I grew up, the things I was learning in high school, in history...but all of that would be like speaking Chinese to this kid, he never had any clue about anything. And between the three of them, they still don't have much of one.

Inconsideration, lies and no tact.

What can make me mad as hell are people who are unnecessarily anal retentive and questing over silly things....

My (soon to be) ex makes me SO mad. He keeps trying to talk me out of child support and alimony, he just called me up and told me that we need to find a new home for our dog, he calls me horrible names and he called me the other night and growled like a demon, while he had the kids "I'm gonna tell them." Then he hung up. Then he called back and said it again! I told him that he was asking for a restraining order...

anyway, lots of anger at him right now because he's crazy and I can't escape him.

TPP wrote:

My (soon to be) ex makes me SO mad. He keeps trying to talk me out of child support and alimony, he just called me up and told me that we need to find a new home for our dog, he calls me horrible names and he called me the other night and growled like a demon, while he had the kids "I'm gonna tell them." Then he hung up. Then he called back and said it again! I told him that he was asking for a restraining order...

anyway, lots of anger at him right now because he's crazy and I can't escape him.

If that were me, I'd funnel all interaction with him through attorneys; I wouldn't even take his calls. His carrying on like that is just an attempt to goad a reaction out of you now that the two of you are unattached, and it isn't worth your stress. You should simply have your attorney inform his attorney that behavior like that isn't working in his favor, as far as custody arrangements and time with the kids is concerned. He should be more concerned about that than trying to play jilted lover with you.

Plagiarism. Hypocrisy. Lady GaGa. One-up-ers. People who defend Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin. Gay pride parades. People singing the soundtrack to Wicked in public places.

Rockbird wrote:

Plagiarism. Hypocrisy. Lady GaGa. One-up-ers. People who defend Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin. Gay pride parades. People singing the soundtrack to Wicked in public places.

As much as I loved that show I don't think I could recognize any of the songs now.

Chris wrote:

TPP wrote:

My (soon to be) ex makes me SO mad. He keeps trying to talk me out of child support and alimony, he just called me up and told me that we need to find a new home for our dog, he calls me horrible names and he called me the other night and growled like a demon, while he had the kids "I'm gonna tell them." Then he hung up. Then he called back and said it again! I told him that he was asking for a restraining order...

anyway, lots of anger at him right now because he's crazy and I can't escape him.

If that were me, I'd funnel all interaction with him through attorneys; I wouldn't even take his calls. His carrying on like that is just an attempt to goad a reaction out of you now that the two of you are unattached, and it isn't worth your stress. You should simply have your attorney inform his attorney that behavior like that isn't working in his favor, as far as custody arrangements and time with the kids is concerned. He should be more concerned about that than trying to play jilted lover with you.

alan smithee wrote:

Rockbird wrote:

Plagiarism. Hypocrisy. Lady GaGa. One-up-ers. People who defend Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin. Gay pride parades. People singing the soundtrack to Wicked in public places.

As much as I loved that show I don't think I could recognize any of the songs now.

I went to a school near Emerson College... UGH. SO MANY WANNABE MUSICAL LOSERS WHO COULDN'T ACTUALLY SING.

alan smithee wrote:

Chris wrote:

TPP wrote:

My (soon to be) ex makes me SO mad. He keeps trying to talk me out of child support and alimony, he just called me up and told me that we need to find a new home for our dog, he calls me horrible names and he called me the other night and growled like a demon, while he had the kids "I'm gonna tell them." Then he hung up. Then he called back and said it again! I told him that he was asking for a restraining order...

anyway, lots of anger at him right now because he's crazy and I can't escape him.

If that were me, I'd funnel all interaction with him through attorneys; I wouldn't even take his calls. His carrying on like that is just an attempt to goad a reaction out of you now that the two of you are unattached, and it isn't worth your stress. You should simply have your attorney inform his attorney that behavior like that isn't working in his favor, as far as custody arrangements and time with the kids is concerned. He should be more concerned about that than trying to play jilted lover with you.

Uncle Al agrees!

Slow motherfucking internet connection.

Nystyle709 wrote:

Slow motherfucking internet connection.

Chris wrote:

Uncle Al agrees!

What? Like you have the Uncle Alan Smithee Seal of Approval?

Chris wrote:

TPP wrote:

My (soon to be) ex makes me SO mad. He keeps trying to talk me out of child support and alimony, he just called me up and told me that we need to find a new home for our dog, he calls me horrible names and he called me the other night and growled like a demon, while he had the kids "I'm gonna tell them." Then he hung up. Then he called back and said it again! I told him that he was asking for a restraining order...

anyway, lots of anger at him right now because he's crazy and I can't escape him.

If that were me, I'd funnel all interaction with him through attorneys; I wouldn't even take his calls. His carrying on like that is just an attempt to goad a reaction out of you now that the two of you are unattached, and it isn't worth your stress. You should simply have your attorney inform his attorney that behavior like that isn't working in his favor, as far as custody arrangements and time with the kids is concerned. He should be more concerned about that than trying to play jilted lover with you.

You are totally right. The only problem is that we are trying to co-parent so we HAVE to communicate about the kids. I have told him he may text me, write me a note, or have a recorded phone conversation with me about the kids, but other than that, no talking because I am sick of him accusing me of threatening to take away the kids and stuff like that. I don't want to talk to him about anything else.

He is at his lawyer's office right now...We'll see what he counters my parenting plan and divorce paperwork with. I'm scared!

People insisting on talking to me when I'm obviously busy doing something. Like the lady sitting next to me on the plane.

Nystyle709 wrote:

People insisting on talking to me when I'm obviously busy doing something. Like the lady sitting next to me on the plane.

But that's because you look so interesting!

Nystyle709 wrote:

alan smithee wrote:

But that's because you look so interesting!

LOL. Hardly.

So you're just flypaper for freaks?

I've got another one to add to this, and this has been on my nerves for quite some time now, and once again has to do with my neighbors. The youngest boy came over one day for breakfast, because their father doesn't keep anything in the fridge except meat and cheese for sandwiches, and Tv dinners, and it never occurs to him to buy more than one thing at the grocery store, not as in he'll get 10 of something, but just get 1 thing of something each day with three kids to feed.

Anyway, the boy comes over, and we make him pancakes, and the whole time we're waiting for the frying pan to heat up he keeps sticking his finger in the batter and eating it, and with every single miniscule swallow he makes this loud GULPING sound, and never the whole finger, just the tip, so stick in the tip, suck it GULP, stick it in, suck it GULP, and even when the pancake is cooking he won't wait until it's done, it's flipped, he takes the excess off the spatula and GULP GULP GULPS!

I thought I was going to LOSE MY MIND having to endure that noise... To hear that constant GULP GULP GULPING is to know the madness that plagued Elizabeth Taylor's character in Suddenly Last Summer as she recalls the ghastly GULPING noises the cannibals made when they ate her cousin Sebastian! If I never have to listen to that kid eat again it'll be TOO SOON!

Supernova wrote:

I've got another one to add to this, and this has been on my nerves for quite some time now, and once again has to do with my neighbors. The youngest boy came over one day for breakfast, because their father doesn't keep anything in the fridge except meat and cheese for sandwiches, and Tv dinners, and it never occurs to him to buy more than one thing at the grocery store, not as in he'll get 10 of something, but just get 1 thing of something each day with three kids to feed.

Anyway, the boy comes over, and we make him pancakes, and the whole time we're waiting for the frying pan to heat up he keeps sticking his finger in the batter and eating it, and with every single miniscule swallow he makes this loud GULPING sound, and never the whole finger, just the tip, so stick in the tip, suck it GULP, stick it in, suck it GULP, and even when the pancake is cooking he won't wait until it's done, it's flipped, he takes the excess off the spatula and GULP GULP GULPS!

I thought I was going to LOSE MY MIND having to endure that noise... To hear that constant GULP GULP GULPING is to know the madness that plagued Elizabeth Taylor's character in Suddenly Last Summer as she recalls the ghastly GULPING noises the cannibals made when they ate her cousin Sebastian! If I never have to listen to that kid eat again it'll be TOO SOON!

Ew. I would have told him to sit his butt down.

How old is the kid?