Since we are on the subject....

[Sunshine1]

There was an incident last Friday when children went with NCP for the day for a birthday visit.

All was well except for the last hour and 20 minutes before their arrival home.  Younger SS called crying hysterically and hardly able to say anything at all was able to squeak out that he wnated to live with his BM.( all recorded)

Older SS refused to get on the phone but I had demanded that he did and he said without any hesitation that he also wanted to live with his BM. No sobbing or any emotion. I told them that I would see them in an hour and would not discuss their living arrangements any further with them and I would see them in an hour.

The exchange is at a police station and BM had pleaded with the cop that they stay with her and made the children (while sobbing) tell him that they wanted to live with her.  Cop said there is nothing we can do about this they must be returned to me.

Children have stated they want to see their BM but are afraid of her actions and what she might do to them and if they don't do what she says "something bad will happen there"  not sure exactly what, they haven't stated that she is violent to them or anything. Kids are 8 & 9 and I can drag them there if they refuse, but they would never would do that.

Currently BM has pre-arranged 7 weeks of summer visitation but it is not court ordered only agreed to, nothing file just agreed to.
BM has a list of mental disorders that she deals with and she is one slippery person and can wiggle her way out of just about anything by telling a lie.

The entire incident stemmed from a CPS report that they had finally just been able to contact her about, and she denied the entire thing except she lied to the worker, because they had already interviewed the children and now they can not determine who is telling the truth, her or the kids...well that is an easy one.  The children found a sex toy and believe me they did NOT know what that was until that day.  CPS assured her it was not me and it wasn't me that called I didn't even know about it until they contacted me.

She didn't believe that and took it out on the kids and told them I was trying to take them away from her etc.. etc.. and tried to convince the kids that it didn't happen and that SS was lying....the story is long.

Children start a new therapist tomorrow and have to go back for 15 days in July which if there is any way to get out of it, it would be great for the children's sanity.

Anyway my questions:

1. Is there anything I can do about her continual traumatizing of the children?

2.Is there anything to do about this or report this behavior to? ( CPS doesn't care about the incident they caused, not enough mental abuse documentation)

3. Let it go and pick our battles?

[socrateaser]

>Anyway my questions:
>
>1. Is there anything I can do about her continual traumatizing
>of the children?

If the therapist is willing to report to the court on the children's distress, then that would be grounds to restrain visitation to supervised. If not, then you need to have a therapist who is being retained specifically for the purpose of diagnosis in anticipation of litigation, so that you can inform the court with expert testimony of the children's trauma.

>
>2.Is there anything to do about this or report this behavior
>to? ( CPS doesn't care about the incident they caused, not
>enough mental abuse documentation)

You need proof. The kids are too young to be competent witnesses, so you need an objective third party who will testify to their distress.

>3. Let it go and pick our battles?

The fact that you are asking the question, suggests that you don't believe that the problem is as big a deal as you are making it sound. If the kids are afraid of being with the other parent, because of her hysterionics, then that is a big deal. If they're simply confounded by the existence of a "Steely Dan," at the other parent's home, then I suggest you get over it and tell them to do the same.