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Tough Love - Cautionary Tales
Last week Barbara Sorensen told Home Truths about the ultimatum she gave her sons: "face up to your addictions and get treatment, or you'll have to leave." Two listeners contacted us with cautionary tales...
Leslie Brown:
Way back, our eldest son was in the habit of bringing his satchel home and just dumping it in the hall. Many times I said to him, "Look Richard, will you please move that satchel - somebody's going to fall over it one day.
Of course, the inevitable happened. One day I was going up the hall and I nearly fell over it. So I said to Richard, "If you leave that satchel there once more I'm going to put it in the dustbin - and I mean it."
Next day, he came home from school and dumped his satchel in the hall. Later on, he was about to start his homework, when he came in to the kitchen and said, "Mum, I can't find my satchel anywhere." And I just stood and looked at him and I could see the penny drop and he said, "You haven't put it in the dustbin...", and I said, "Well, have a look and see." From then on the satchel was never dropped in the hall.
Edra Brittain:
I brought up both my children on my own. My son and I rubbed along together in our flat, which was owned by Westminster Council at the time. When was about 21, I met the man who is now my husband. At first, my son and this man seemed to get on very well until this man offered to buy the flat for me as a gift. My son decided in his own head that we were going to throw him out and just refused to discuss it.
He gave us absolute hell for about six months and eventually I just left a note for him saying, "you either come to your senses and agree to talk to me, or I want you out. And if you haven't gone when I get back, then I shall be putting your stuff outside in the road." I was that desperate. And when I got back, he'd gone. I never heard from him again. I still don't know what else I could have done.
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