My STBX has pulled the silver bullet routine, and the case has been moving very slowly through the court system. Both OCFS and law enforcement have already closed their investigations, confirming the allegations were unfounded. The court has now allowed me public, unsupervised visits.

I had my second visit last week with my three children — a teenager and two younger kids. Unfortunately, it’s clear my ex has significantly influenced my teenager’s view of me. During visits, my teen is openly hostile, and the behavior is so intense that it consumes the entire interaction. I’m left with almost no ability to give meaningful attention to my younger children because I’m constantly managing the conflict coming from my teen.

I still have several more visits scheduled before this stage of the process is complete. I’m trying to find a healthy, constructive way to handle the situation — one that supports all of my children — without having to ask that my teenager be excused from the visits.