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You can talk privately to a counsellor online or call 0800 1111 for free.
Hi S,
Thanks for your letter.
Youve done really well to tell me so much about your life, seems like that could have taken a lot of courage.
It sounds like your life at home was incredibly difficult, youve told us about a time when your mum held you off the ground by your throat and your dad punched you in the chest. When you were taken into care your parents didnt tell you that it was going to happen. I can hear how scary it was for you to be collected from school by strangers with no idea of what was happening.
Moving into care can be a very difficult experience. It could be a good idea to remember that when decisions are made about moving children and young people away from their family homes, it is usually to make sure they can live in a safe place, but this can hard to understand or appreciate at the time.
It seems like being removed from home in that way has made moving into care really hard for you. You have said that it made you believe your parents didnt want you or love you and that could have been really hard for you. Its normal to have complicated and confusing feelings when you go through such a big change in your life. Its important to try and talk to someone you trust about those feelings so they can support you in finding a way to cope.
You have told me about your little brother and I can tell how much you miss him. Youre not worried that your parents or sister would hurt him but you are concerned about what he might learn from them. Leaving behind family members you are close to can be one of the most difficult things about moving into care. If you are worried about what might happen to them after you leave, its really important to let your social worker or another trusted adult know so they can check on your family.
Nobody has to cope with moving into care by themselves. The ChildLine counsellors are always there to listen and support you by phone, maybe you could think about getting in touch? You could do this by calling 0800 1111 (it's a free number) sending an email or using 1-2-1 chat. You could also contact an organisation called The Who Cares Trust; they are really experienced at supporting children and young people who are in care.
There's also information on this site about abuse and living in care that you might find useful to have a look at.
Take care,
Sam
You can talk privately to a counsellor online or call 0800 1111 for free.
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.