Hi Sam! My parents have loads and loads f bills to pay out! It's hard for the. To even get £100! Our family are struggling with mortgage and our weekly shop now! My mum an dad are saying you don't need to know about! Don't worry! But I am. My mum and dad are always argueing!!! And now it's the summer holidays we can go on holidays when all my friends are! They're all saying "why aren't you going on holiday???" And I say "can afford it. And the. They just look at me and state at em like I'm a weirdo and walk away and I follow them otherwise ill have no one to play with. And our car had to go into MOT for a few weeks so we can't drive anyware either. So my mum ad dad are looking up on the computer how much money buses are but their expensive for all four of us! Our computer doesn't usually work. Nothing ever does! Our family get bad luck all the time!!! Luckily our computer is working. What can I do for the summer holidays and how can I get my parents to tell me how much the my need I pay! I need help! What can I do?
Sam
Hello,
Thank you for your letter. Things sound like they are very stressful at home right now and Im really glad you have decided to write to me.
Youve said your parents have loads of bills to pay out and it seems like its a struggle with mortgage payments and other things such as the weekly shop. I got the impression that your parents are having to cut back on the things that might not have been a problem before such as getting the car MOTd or going away on holidays.
Even though your parents have told you not to worry, I can hear that you are very worried and this situation is having a big impact on you. Often when there are any money troubles at home, it can put a lot of pressure on everyone and this stress can sometimes cause arguments and sometimes when people tell us not to worry it makes us worry even more. I can imagine it might feel like your parents are not being fully honest and it might even feel frustrating for you not to know exactly what is happening. Sometimes things can happen that are outside of your parents control - often parents will not want to worry their children about their financial situation. Its important to remember that it is never your responsibility to fix the problem.
It can be really hard to try and understand why you can no longer do the things you are used to, especially through the summer break. It sounds like you feel a lot of pressure from your friends to be doing the same things they are, like going on holiday. Its not your fault that you are not going on holiday and its wrong of your friends to stare at you and make you feel differently to them. Money troubles can happen to anyone at any time, and often mean that changes have to be made and sometimes these changes can be hard to understand and put up with.
The summer holidays should be a time you can look forward to, but it can also be a difficult time when things are tough at home. Its understandable that you want to know what you can do in this time. It might help for you to think about all the things you enjoy doing and what things you can do that are free. It can be a great way of getting creative. There might also be things in your local area that you can get involved in. Some people might like to find out about holiday clubs and activities available in their area over the summer. This could be done online or there might be information in a local community centre or church.
Lots of young people find the ChildLine message boards helpful for some support from other people there own age. You might want to post a message on the boards to find out what free activities other young people are doing this summer for some ideas.
You might also want to have a look at the ChildLine website page that offers some more information on money worries and you can always talk to a ChildLine counsellor directly for more support. You can do this by calling on 0800 1111 (free from any phone), 1-2-1 chat or email.
Remember that is not something you have to cope with alone there is support available.
Hope you do get to enjoy the summer break!
Take care,
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.
