Hello
Thanks for your letter. It sounds like things have been quite difficult for you at home for a while. It also sounds like your mum has gone through some tough times herself, and this has had an effect on you.
It can be quite normal for families to have arguments from time to time. It sounds like the argument yesterday was particularly hard for you and you told us that your mum was trying to hit you, which is never okay. A lot of things have changed for you at home and change can often be difficult to cope with. It seems like you feel like a lot of responsibility has been put onto you because of your mum’s depression and you’ve felt that you have had to deal with things that children don’t usually have to.
You mentioned that you were feeling worried your mum would hurt herself, it’s important to know what to do if she did. If you are ever worried that you or her are in danger then you can call 999 to get help.
You said you’re scared of talking to the school counsellor in case you and your sisters are put into care. School is there to keep you safe and they would want to tell someone if they thought you were being hurt at home. It’s really hard for me to say exactly what will happen but it might not be that you go into care – there are lots of different things that could happen. Perhaps you could talk to another adult you trust to see what they think?
You can of course always talk to ChildLine – counsellors are available on the phone or online and we are open all the time.
Thanks again for talking to me, everyone at ChildLine is here to support you.
Take care
Sam