I am a very involved stepmother who has been involved in the life of my almost 7 year old step son for the past 5 years. His father and I have been married for almost 3 years and we have a 1 year old son. There is a court order for joint legal custody and shared parenting with equal time in both households since 2008, this arrangement has been working well with some minor but resolvable disagreements.
This past month there was an incident in our home that was reported by the child to the child's mother and she is acting as if this incident is a form of abuse (nothing physical). My husband has tried to talk to the child's mother to explain the incident that occurred in our home understanding her feelings of being upset when hearing the information incorrectly. The childs mother has since made an emergency visitation modification request to stop all overnight visits and only publicly supervised visits stating that the child only wants to be in her home. His father has asked numerous times if her reports are true and the child denys. After trying again to discuss the incident, she still refuses to understand the incident as reported by the child's father and is reporting myself as a danger to the court. The scheduled court date is next week. The child still visits during the week and on his normal weekends in our home. The child does not show any trauma or change in behavior or emotions since this incident. It seems like the child's mother only wants to be "mad" and make demands based on her feelings, where we would like to move forward acknowledging what happened and working on a future solution.
My concern is the way the court will percieve this allegation of abuse, with no physical evidence. Also, the child's mother seems to have an insecurity complex of some sort. She is constantly referring herself as "I am the mother" and the child as "my son" and never refers to him by name. I am concerned on how to best manage these issues of inferiority to avoid any future issues; her wanting to control the child more and more seems like it will continue to make life difficult for not only the child but myself and his father. Any advise is appreciated!!!!
This past month there was an incident in our home that was reported by the child to the child's mother and she is acting as if this incident is a form of abuse (nothing physical). My husband has tried to talk to the child's mother to explain the incident that occurred in our home understanding her feelings of being upset when hearing the information incorrectly. The childs mother has since made an emergency visitation modification request to stop all overnight visits and only publicly supervised visits stating that the child only wants to be in her home. His father has asked numerous times if her reports are true and the child denys. After trying again to discuss the incident, she still refuses to understand the incident as reported by the child's father and is reporting myself as a danger to the court. The scheduled court date is next week. The child still visits during the week and on his normal weekends in our home. The child does not show any trauma or change in behavior or emotions since this incident. It seems like the child's mother only wants to be "mad" and make demands based on her feelings, where we would like to move forward acknowledging what happened and working on a future solution.
My concern is the way the court will percieve this allegation of abuse, with no physical evidence. Also, the child's mother seems to have an insecurity complex of some sort. She is constantly referring herself as "I am the mother" and the child as "my son" and never refers to him by name. I am concerned on how to best manage these issues of inferiority to avoid any future issues; her wanting to control the child more and more seems like it will continue to make life difficult for not only the child but myself and his father. Any advise is appreciated!!!!