AuntofPrincess
New Member
First let me say I’m happy to have found this board and sad to see so many people that are dealing with these problems. I’m not a parent, I’m an aunt - I hope that that won’t be a problem.
My 14 year old niece, let’s call her Jessie, is obviously in some kind of trouble and my sister, her mom, is doing her best to ignore it, and I don’t know what to do.
Background: Jessie was adopted as a baby from overseas where she lived in an orphanage. My sis and her family moved to this town two years ago and Jessie was practically mourning her old life in their old place. She had trouble making friends here and eventually when she did, they turned out to be the class troublemakers. Jessie changed a lot since then. She started having wild mood swings, crying spells, fighting. Whenever we’d visit, we knew that if she’s around there’s going to be drama. She was sent to several different therapists who diagnosed all kinds of stuff but the situation just doesn’t improve. As time went by her grades dropped and her behavior got worse and things started disappearing. I didn’t really make the connection back then but Jessie also asked me for money with all kinds of stories (church youth group fundraiser, etc.) and I feel dumb writing this but I did give her some money until I got suspicious and stopped.
I told my sister that I think Jessie’s using drugs but sis is in total denial and will do nothing about it. Now Jessie’s about to get suspended (for too many unexcused absences - how is suspension supposed to be punishment for a kid who skips school?). My sis feels sorry for Jessie because “she started her life at an orphanage, of course she’s having a hard time, we shouldn’t be too hard on her”.
I’m afraid this kid is going to end up in jail or on the streets because her parents just choose to ignore what’s going on, but since I’m her aunt there’s not much that I can do. I’m hoping to get some ideas for things that I can do that I might not have considered, before things get worse. thank you.
My 14 year old niece, let’s call her Jessie, is obviously in some kind of trouble and my sister, her mom, is doing her best to ignore it, and I don’t know what to do.
Background: Jessie was adopted as a baby from overseas where she lived in an orphanage. My sis and her family moved to this town two years ago and Jessie was practically mourning her old life in their old place. She had trouble making friends here and eventually when she did, they turned out to be the class troublemakers. Jessie changed a lot since then. She started having wild mood swings, crying spells, fighting. Whenever we’d visit, we knew that if she’s around there’s going to be drama. She was sent to several different therapists who diagnosed all kinds of stuff but the situation just doesn’t improve. As time went by her grades dropped and her behavior got worse and things started disappearing. I didn’t really make the connection back then but Jessie also asked me for money with all kinds of stories (church youth group fundraiser, etc.) and I feel dumb writing this but I did give her some money until I got suspicious and stopped.
I told my sister that I think Jessie’s using drugs but sis is in total denial and will do nothing about it. Now Jessie’s about to get suspended (for too many unexcused absences - how is suspension supposed to be punishment for a kid who skips school?). My sis feels sorry for Jessie because “she started her life at an orphanage, of course she’s having a hard time, we shouldn’t be too hard on her”.
I’m afraid this kid is going to end up in jail or on the streets because her parents just choose to ignore what’s going on, but since I’m her aunt there’s not much that I can do. I’m hoping to get some ideas for things that I can do that I might not have considered, before things get worse. thank you.