Stepfather and Mother

I am 13yrs old. my step father had been living wit us since i was 7. Ever since he married my mom i had been afraid of him. it seems im always into trouble with him no matter how much i try to please him. he makes me uncomfortable when we are alone whn my mom goes to work. especially when my mom wors at night. heals hits me when i dont do exactlly wha he wants and i try to do te way he wants me to do what he asks. I even got into trouble for not gettng straight A's got all A's but 1 and it was a B+ he called me stpid and that im worthless he also whipped me with the belt 15 times cus of the B+. My mom knows everything i even tld her abou the other scary stuff hes alwas done since he moved in but she told me i need to do what he says otherwise he has a right to punish me. I know i cant take much more i wat to go away and no b around any of them. it feels like im not worthy to live. please help me thank yu

[ccsmod2]

Re: Stepfather and Mother

Thank you for contacting the National Runaway Switchboard during this difficult time. We are sorry to hear about what you are going through and hopefully we will be able to assist you.

You mentioned that you are afraid of your stepfather and that he makes you uncomfortable. What sorts of things does he do to make you feel this way? If he is hitting you, you can call Child Protective Services to file a report with them. If you don’t feel comfortable contacting them directly, you can call us and we can assist you with filing a report. You can also talk to anyone at your school because they are all mandated reporters; that means that if you tell them about your stepfather hitting you, they have to call Child Protective Services. It sounds like a very scary situation you are in right now and it’s a tough decision that you have to make. If you’d like to talk about it, please call us anytime at 1-800-RUNAWAY.
You could also try calling Childhelp USA or Justice for Children. Childhelp is a 24 hour hotline that has crisis counselors available to answer questions about abuse and how to report it. Their phone number is 1-800-422-4453 and their website is www.childhelpusa.org. The other organization is Justice for Children and they are similar to Childhelp. Justice for Children is not available 24 hours though; they are available from 8:00 AM-5:00 PM. They can provide legal advocacy for you and help you to develop a plan to make a report and feel safe. Their phone number is 1-800-733-0059 and their website is www.jfcadvocacy.org.
It sounds like you try very hard in school to get good grades. How does that make you feel? You also said that you told your mom about what was going on and she said he has a right to punish you. We are sorry to hear that. Everyone has the right to an environment where they feel safe and secure. If you ever feel that you are in immediate danger, you can always contact the local police for assistance.

Remember, we are here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week if you ever want to just talk to someone about your options. Our phone number is 1-800-RUNAWAY. I wish you the best of luck and look forward to hearing from you.

~NRS