I live with my parents and 3 younger siblings. We have always been a very normal happy family and very close until I guess we just slowly stopped doing family games and dinners and stuff idr exactly when. And my dad just started to get angry a lot. He stomps around the house sometimes and gets irritated by us more often. He has never hurt us kids but he’s just grumpy towards us a lot but before he was really nice and pretty patient and only got angry when we really got on his nerves. The worst problem is he’s mean to my mom. If she annoys him he like grabs her arm really hard and I think it actually hurts her. There was at least one time I saw a bruise where he grabbed her. She’s really nervous around him. And at night sometimes they have these like whisper-yell arguments like and I can hear them sometimes except just not what they say. literally right now I can hear them having some kind of argument. My mom keeps getting bruises and says its from falling or things falling from cabinets and stuff but I think my dad hits her. I asked her a few times if we should call someone to get help but she said no and that I should never tell anyone anything negative about my dad. I told my grandma that I’m worried about my dad getting angry and that I think he’s getting violent but she said I shouldn’t say things like that and she told my mom and my mom got angry with me. I don’t know what to do. My siblings are starting to get a little scared of him like they flinch if he raises his voice or when he stomps around they stay out of his sight.
Tldr: my dad is getting angry recently and it’s scaring us, and I think he’s hitting my mom when we don’t see. She says not to tell anyone. What do I do?
5 comments
Get some help! No need to wait around for something more serious to happen! Even if your mom gets upset, this can save your mom if she is in any type of danger and your siblings as well! Save yourselves from all the trauma and pain!
You need to tell someone. For your own safety and for your mom and siblings. Whatever changed, your mom is too scared to get help, this sort of thing should never fall on a kid to handle, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t. Find an adult, not in your family (since you already tried that with both your mom and grandma), and ask them for help. Talk to a school counselor or a teacher you trust. Teachers and counselors are what’s called mandated reporters. If they know about abuse, they must legally report it to child protective services (in many countries, at least). They will be able to call CPS and make a report. I know CPS sounds like a really scary choice, but they can give your mom resources to get help and they can help get and keep you and your siblings safe.
Even as a child, if you are in the US, you can make an anonymous call to Child protective services. So you don’t even have to talk to anyone at school.
I’m so sorry 😔 I would call the national domestic violence hotline if I were you, and ask for advice. It’s anonymous. Or talk to a school counselor.
So you tried grandma and she blew it.
Have you got a male relative that you can talk to?
Uncle, cousin, or next choice would be a teacher that you like.
Sorry about this situation.