The Help

A friend and his ex spoke of having problems with their 15 year old son. It appeared that the mom was getting a bunch grief. The child would not listen to her and on many occasion he would talk back with some harsh comments. The dad did not get any of this behavior when the son came to his home on short weekend visits. The two agreed to have the son spend a couple of months with the dad. In the beginning things was great and the two got along. After a couple of weeks things started to slowly change and the dad noticed that the son was not good at listening. When he asked the son to do something he would often have to repeat the directions much later. Trying to give his son the benefit of doubt he asked the ex could it be something on the mental side. She quickly shot down that excuse and said, just give him more time. After a month things really begin to come unglued between the two of them. So the father sat the son down and they talked about the lack of effort on the son’s behalf. The following day the father after cooking asked the son to wash the dishes. 3 hours later the father found the son asleep and the dishes unwashed. He woke the son up and repeated his request for the dishes to be washed. The son quickly replied “Man I’m not your Butler”. The dad shared a physical moment with his son. Needless to say the mom, dad and son have a very good relationship and the communications are always respectful.