Ask Sam letter

Hi there,

It sounds as if you might be feeling lonely and scared at home because of how things are with your mum. Nobody should ever make you feel this way - you have the right to feel cared for and protected at home.

You seem to be stuck between wanting to get away and wishing your mum would spend more time with you. It’s normal to want to feel loved by your mum even though you fight a lot and you feel she doesn’t make time for you.

You shouldn’t be made to feel like you have to be quiet all the time so that you don't get into trouble. At home you should feel relaxed and like you can be yourself. Your mum making you feel this way sounds like emotional abuse and it’s not your fault that any of it is happening. It can be hard to understand why someone would treat you this way.

Emotional abuse is when someone says or does something that makes you feel bad about yourself, or hurts your feelings. Nobody has the right to abuse you and it shouldn’t be happening. We have more information about emotional abuse which includes advice about who you can talk to if this is something you're going through. You could also look at the message boards for advice and information from other young people.

If you want to talk to social services you have every right to do so. Your mum can't stop you. You can contact them yourself or maybe ask someone else like a teacher to help you. If you want help with talking to a social worker you could talk to an adult you feel you can trust, like a teacher or a friend's mum. It’s also something that ChildLine could help you with.

It's completely normal for you to feel scared about doing something you have never done before but ChildLine counsellors are used to talking to young people who are feeling this way. They understand that it’s really brave of children to call them.

If you would like to give it a go you can speak to a counsellor at ChildLine for free on 0800 1111, send them an email or log on to the website for a 1-2-1 chat.

Take care,
Sam