DEAR CAROLINE: Our son and daughter-in-ˡΧ have ºï¸º¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë us off and we have never met our four-year-old grandson

Q?I have a daughter Ϸǯ¤Î 34, with whom I¡Çm very ¤Î¶á¤¯¤Ë, and a son Ϸǯ¤Î 38. He has a partner and three children. My husband and I feel as though we¡Çve been ºï¸º¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë off because we ¹Á¡¿ÈòÆñ½ê¡Çt seen any of them since Christmas 2019. One of his sons was born in 2021, so we ¹Á¡¿ÈòÆñ½ê¡Çt even met him.?

There hasn¡Çt been a Íî¤Á¤ëing out ??it seems that we have just drifted into this ¾õ¶·¡¿¾ðÀª. The main problem is his partner. She used to ¡Ê¿ÍÌ¿¤Ê¤É¤ò¡ËÃ¥¤¦¡¤¼çÄ¥¤¹¤ë that we never made the À®²Ì¡¿ÅØÎÏ to see them, even though we were always the ones who messaged and made ·×²è¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ës.

In fact they never once ¡Êµ¡¤Î¡Ë¥«¥à to us. It always felt like we did all the running ? but this wasn¡Çt good enough for her. The longer the ¾õ¶·¡¿¾ðÀª has gone on, the harder it is to see a way out.

Our daughter and my ǯÇڤΠfather have also heard nothing from our son. He has ºï¸º¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë himself off from the whole family. But I know that as soon as someone dies he will want his ³ô of any Áê³ʪ·ï. I¡Çm at a loss as to what to do.

A?I¡Çm sorry to hear this ? it must be so upsetting for you. It¡Çs hard when your child is in a ´Ø·¸ with someone who you don¡Çt get on with ? and she does sound difficult. You say that things have drifted to this ¹Ô¤¦¡¿³«ºÅ¤¹¤ë¡¿Ãʳ¬, but was there a point when you noticed the distance between you and your son grow??

He and your daughter are ÌÀ³Î¤Ë ¤ä¤á¤ë different personalities. You ¼¨º¶¤¹¤ë that he can¡Çt be bothered unless there is an Áê³ʪ·ï to be had, so is he emotionally detached or selfish? Whatever, he is your son so, of course, you love him and you want to see him.?

Please don¡Çt let the time that you ¹Á¡¿ÈòÆñ½ê¡Çt been in touch stop you from making the first move. It might feel ¤®¤³¤Á¤Ê¤¤, but you want Ã群ê, so be the one to make the À®²Ì¡¿ÅØÎÏ.?

Send him a text or call to say that you would love to see him and your grandchildren ? and ask if you can visit. (You could ¿½¤·¹þ¤à¡¿¿½¤·½Ð to stay in a hotel nearby so that you don¡Çt put them to the trouble of making up beds, etc.) I do hope he will agree and, if so, don¡ Çt ÈóÆñ¤¹¤ë him for not getting in touch ? just say how thrilled

you are to be »Ù±ç¤¹¤ë together and to finally ²ñ¹ç¡¤²ñ¤¦ your youngest grandchild. Try to keep things light and say that you want to see him more often. However, you also need to consider whether his partner is controlling him.?

A classic Ä´°õ¤¹¤ë of coercive »ÙÇۡʤ¹¤ë¡Ë¡¿ÅýÀ©¤¹¤ë is cutting off a partner from their friends and family. So ÀÜ¿¨¤¹¤ë the Men¡Çs Advice Line mensadviceline.org.uk) and/or the charity ManKind ΨÀè (mankind.org.uk) to discover how to recognise this and help your son if necessary. The charity Stand Alone (standalone.org.uk), which supports those Âн褹¤ëing with family estrangement, can ¿½¤·¹þ¤à¡¿¿½¤·½Ð ¤½¤Î¾å¤Î advice about how to ºÆ³«¤¹¤ë communication.

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His redundancy is coming between us

Q My husband and I are really struggling for money since he was made redundant. He is 59. Our children, who are in their Áá´ü¤Ë 20s, both still live at home.

I am working part-time but my salary won¡Çt cover all the Ë¡°Æs.

My husband and I are meant to be going on holiday with his sister and her husband (who are ¸øÀµ¤Ë¡¿¤«¤Ê¤ê Ë­ÉÙ¤Ê) in the summer. Even though his sister has said that we don¡Çt have to »Ùʧ¤¦¡¿Ä¶⠤˸þ¤«¤Ã¤Æ the ¹Ù³°½»Âð, I don¡Çt think we can afford to go. The flights won¡Çt be cheap, and his sister and brother-in-ˡΧ like expensive meals out. I keep arguing with my husband about it.

I think he is too proud to tell his sister how up against it we are. She has always been the more successful one.

A This is a minefield for you because it sounds as if your husband has always felt in the ±Æ¤ò¤Ä¤¯¤ë¡¿Èø¹Ô¤¹¤ë of his sister. It would be a shame to let it come between you, though, as you are both feeling ¶¯Ä´¤¹¤ë¡¿¥¹¥È¥ì¥¹d already.?

So tell your husband that you don¡Çt want to argue any more ? the two of you have enough to Âн褹¤ë with without that ? and say you want to find a way to discuss it calmly. Ask him gently if he feels that his sister will value him or love him ¤¤¤Ã¤½¤¦¾¯¤Ê¤¯ because his company has ended his ¸ÛÍÑ, which could °æ¸Í¡¿ÊÛ¸î»ÎÀÊ be because of factors beyond his »ÙÇۡʤ¹¤ë¡Ë¡¿ÅýÀ©¤¹¤ë.?

Tell him that you don¡Çt think any the ¤¤¤Ã¤½¤¦¾¯¤Ê¤¯ of him, ¶¯Ä´ that he is much more than his work and that you are sure his sister will feel the same. Low self-esteem is ¤¢¤ê¤Õ¤ì¤¿ after redundancy ? Mind (mind.org.uk) has advice on how to Âн褹¤ë. You can also get ²òÊü¤¹¤ë¡¿¼«Í³¤Ê »ØƳ¡¿¼ê°ú on managing your ºâÀ¯¡¿¶âÍ»s at Money Helper moneyhelper.org.uk.

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If you have a problem, Îá¾õ to Caroline West-Meads at YOU, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY, or email c.west-meads@mailonsunday.co.uk. You can follow Caroline on X/Twitter @Ask_Caroline_??Caroline reads all your letters but ²ù¤¤¤ës she cannot answer each one Ëܿͼ«¿È¤Ç