And I have done it. my child is locked out of the house with no way in passed the back or front yard.

I am the opposite of fucking great, although I do feel safe and like I can leave the house now.

To counteract the awful-parentness I am also washing all of his clothes and cleaning his room. All the clothes will be hung up and/or folded and shoes are in the closest in boxes and the bathroom has been sprayed down awaiting scrubbing. Before the day is done I am sure I'll have found 2-3 years worth of school stuff to throw away.

{{{msbelle}}} I'm so sorry.

You are so right, Laura! I should have gotten the extended warranty.

msbelle, I'm glad you feel safe now. I don't think you're an awful parent, fwiw.

I'm so sorry to hear that it has come to this msbelle. Family is so hard.

Also, I want to say that I'm continually in awe of how you keep dealing with the situation and moving forward. I'm sure that it may not feel that way from where you are standing, but from this viewpoint you have been an amazing point of stability for your son who is clearly at odds with himself and the world.

Oh msbelle, I wish there was something I could say that would help. Also, you are not even remotely a bad parent.

I'm glad to hear you're talking to a therapist -- you're getting the right (professional) kind of advice and coaching.

R. lost 28 pounds post-surgery when she was in cardiac rehab (less than 3 weeks), which she is in denial about that it was because she was on a controlled diet and not binging when she can get Instacart and Doordash at home, and does. Now she's back to wondering why her insulin dose has to be increased and her blood sugar surges so high. Le Sigh.

I think you're doing an amazing job in a really difficult situation, msbelle. I'm sorry things are so hard.

What ND (and everyone) has said, msbelle. I'm just sorry he's making it so hard on everyone.

Ouch, msbelle. That sounds so hard. I'm sorry. I hope he slinks away and complains to his friends and eventually gets his head on straight, rather than trying to take it out on you.

Yeah, here's hoping he gets his shit together with a quickness.

Even if he doesn't, does it help to know that all the kids I knew who were a mess at that age eventually got their shit together? And mostly did it outside of their parents' house? I know a lot of people who couldn't deal with anything at that age, some of whom wasted their parents' money on some college (but not a degree!), some of whom didn't. They all became adults!