Toxic Mother and an Alcoholic Father

[Rainygrae]

I admit, I've had a pretty okay life up until now. I'm thirteen years old and my parents are divorced. (My Dad was with another woman) My mom didn't take it so well and has been working me 24/7 around the house. It's not fair- she doesn't make my brother do anything. And when I tried to tell her that, she simply replied with "What kind of HORRIBLE person tells their mother no?" And, while we where on vacation, she slapped me-hard- across the face for tapping her. She's also gotten into alcohol recently, no no where near as bad as my father.

I want to run away. I'm tired of her making me feel like ******** for being who I am. Please help, I really need it!

[ccsmod0]

re: Toxic Mother and an Alcoholic Father

Hello there,

Thank you so much for reaching out to us. It sounds like you have had a lot going on lately, especially with your mother. You definitely do not deserve to be hit or made to feel bad about yourself, and it’s brave of you to reach out and try to do something about it. This can be a difficult situation to deal with, but you do have some options.

It seems like you’ve put some thought into running away. A couple questions you might want to ask yourself when considering this are: - Do I have a safe place to stay once I leave? - How will I get food? - Will my mom file a runaway report? What happens if she does? However, if you decide not to leave home, it might be a good idea to think of how you could handle living there.

Perhaps you might want to consider reaching out to a trusted adult or other family member who can help you speak to your mother about what’s going on. You could also consider talking to your guidance counselor at school to come up with some ways to work things out. One good resource for you could be a hotline called Families Anonymous. It’s a hotline for family members of people who are addicted to drugs or alcohol. Their number is 1-800-736-9805. They might be a good place to talk through what you’re dealing with.

Again, you’re doing a really great thing by reaching out and trying to make the situation better. It can be easy to feel trapped in these moments, but remember that you have options! If you want to talk through some plans in more detail, we encourage you to call us or chat us. Our number is 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929). We are available 24/7 and would love to talk to you more about what’s going on. Or you can chat with us through our website (www.1800runaway.org) from 4.30pm-11.30pm central time.

We look forward to your call or chat.

Best of luck!

NRS