Moving in/staying part-time with my grandparents

[Guest]

I’m sixteen years old and I live with my father and my stepmother. Living with my stepmother has always had its challenges for my brother and I as we’re not her biological children. I don’t feel listened to or like I am ever good enough or loved or treated as fairly as her biological children at home. Lately I’ve been spending a lot of time at my grandparents because my grandmother and I are really close and I’ve had some things I wanted to talk about with her. I want to spend more time here and possibly maybe even move in or just stay here part time like you would with parents sharing custody kind of. The problem is that I don’t know how to ask/confront my parents about this. I’ve talked to my school counselor and my therapist and they both said that I should ask my grandma what she thinks and then talk to my dad and stepmom but I don’t know how to confront them about it or what exactly to say??

[ccsmod7]

Thank you very much for reaching out. It sounds like home is a stressful situation for you at the moment. We are glad that you have your grandmother to support you and be there for you and you also deserve to feel just as loved by your parents. Also good for you for being proactive and speaking to the school counselor and your therapist about the situation, it sounds like you really are doing the best you can.

It sounds like you are unsure of how to confront your parents. How do you feel about writing a letter to them detailing your feelings? That way, you can still make them aware of how you feel, yet you do not have to speak to them directly. Furthermore, here at the National Runaway Safeline (our phone # is 1-800-786-2929) we offer conference calls where we can be on the phone with you while you talk to your parents trying to mediate a productive conversation. If that sounds like an option that you would like to explore, feel free to give us a call.

It takes a lot to reach out and ask for help so thank you again for doing so. It sounds like you truly are trying your best to navigate this situation. If you would like to talk a bit more about what is going on, please do not hesitate to call or chat with us. We are here 24/7 and are here to listen and here to help.