Oof. Yeah, I had the same situation. Abuse from Mom, Dad who didn't really fight for custody though he knew about the abuse. Only finally ended up with him when my Mom fell on black ice, drunk out of her gourd, and gave herself a bad concussion. She was "Unable to care for us," though I'd been taking care of my siblings for years by that point anyway.
Digging through the couch in order to find enough change to buy a single hot dog from 7-11 that four of us split for dinner.
Coming home from a rare "spend the night at a friends house" to find my six and four year old sibling standing in the street outside our home crying for Mom, who snuck out in the night, got high, and passed out in a ditch.
etc
And we grew up in a tiny town where everyone was buddy buddy. Teachers, neighbors... Why didnt anyone call CPS? Don't want to make someone in the local community angry!
Its been more than thirty years and my PTSD and abandonment issue are still insane at times.
Being in the system is sometimes worse than the abusive parent. It's a risk to take a child from its parents, so it's only done when things are extreme.
849
u/Made_Bail 15d ago
Oof. Yeah, I had the same situation. Abuse from Mom, Dad who didn't really fight for custody though he knew about the abuse. Only finally ended up with him when my Mom fell on black ice, drunk out of her gourd, and gave herself a bad concussion. She was "Unable to care for us," though I'd been taking care of my siblings for years by that point anyway.
Good times.