Psychosocial Effects of Moving

Ok, so you people say you want to hear more about my life, well here it goes. Since I've started the OTA program, I have often felt like my family is a walking OT crisis. My newest issue is my oldest son wants to go live with his dad, which in my opinion will be the biggest mistake of his life. It's not that they're bad people or anything, but I know once he's there for a while, he's going to want to come home and then it's going to be too late. I asked him why he wants to go and his response was that my husband and I are too strict and he doesn't like a certain child in our neighborhood. Man, what a tough life! I have explained to him many, many times that he will have to clean his room there, which he will be sharing with his little brother, and there will most likely be someone in their neighborhood that he won't get along with very well either, because if you've been paying attention to my blogs, my oldest son if not much of a people person.

My son has been acting out for a couple of years now. He even told my husband and I that he thought if he was bad enough, we would send him to his dads. We have put up with a lot, to say the least, but a couple of weeks ago, I came to the realization that it's not fair to my other children and my husband to have to put up with his bad behavior. After my son told me how much he hated living at my house once again and that he wanted to go live with his dad, I said ok.
So the papers are being drawn up and in about a month and a half, he will leave. It's really sad that he never learned that it's ok to love both of his families. For some reason, he has always felt like he had to pick sides.

As I was reading chapter 19 about adolescents who had an ED, I thought I was reading about my son. The reading was talking about how these individuals make good grades but don't do very well in social situations. It describes my son perfectly, and he has an explosive temper, which is the main reason I'm letting him go. I often think of the speaker from NAMI and wonder if this is going to be my son one day. He's just as big as me now, and I know that his father can straighten him out.

I'm worried about how well he will adjust to a new school, living with his dad's family all the time, and having to share a room with his little brother. Also, I'm worried about how all this will affect my other children. I have explained to them that we had G for 13 yrs and now we have to share him with his other family. They seem to be ok with it. Honestly, I think they like the peace and quiet when he's gone. How about all those psychosocial issues?

I have provided a link to anyone else who may been having some tough times with their teenagers or for reference when we are working with teenage clients.