I've been in foster carer for 5 years and nearly 6 year coming in March my foster family are very strict and I have no social media so I can't chat to my friends I don't like living with them they are verbally abusive and always look down at me.I don't want to live with them and after five year of this I have finally reached my breaking point.
Sam
Hi there,
Its not okay for your foster family to say unkind things and look down at you so you feel uncomfortable living with them. This is called emotional abuse, and it's wrong.
Because you live in care, with your foster family, there are rules that your foster family must keep to and it could be that this isnt happening. One way of checking things out would be to speak out about whats going on and explain how your foster family is making you feel and how you want things to change.
You could talk to an adult you trust, perhaps your social worker or teacher. Some people find writing a letter is easier for them than speaking face-to-face. Writing a letter means you can think about what you want to say and include all the important points and keep working on it until you feel that its ready to pass on.
It could be that youve already spoken to someone you trust but nothings changed. If you feel that youre not being listened to or you find it too hard to speak to them, there are advocacy services like the National Youth Advocacy Service on 0808 808 1001 which provide independent support for young people in care. They can help you speak up if things arent right.
Youve done really well to start speaking out about the way you feel to me, and if youd like to tell us more about this you could talk to a counsellor in confidence.
Take care for now, Sam
Need help straight away?
You can talk privately to a counsellor online or call 0800 1111 for free.
Ask me a question
You can ask me about anything you want, there's nothing too big or small. I read every single letter but I can only answer a few each week. My replies are published here on my page.
