A
female
age
41-50,
anonymous
writes:I married my husband even though I don't approve of his family situation. The biggest problem I have is his sister and her family. She smoked pot and drank alcohol while she was pregnant with all three of her children. These kids are all under the age of 7: the last two were mistakes. The sister continues to smoke pot daily and her husband seems to be an alcoholic. I have smelled pot on the kids clothing when they have arrived at family functions, which only means she has been smoking in their presence and driving them around!!! They call these kids names and hit them when they "miss-behave". I have seen these kids with bruises that cannot be explained beyond being beaten with objects. The oldest child has begun to understand and does not agree with the parents and has started to keep secrets with other family members about what happens behind closed doors. I was very active in the family when we first got together, until I realized that the only reason she ever wanted me over was to watch her kids while she got high. I feel so sorry for these kids that I can barely stand to be around them. The first child obviously had fetal alcohol syndrome, the second child seems to have symptoms like those of autism and the third child is also not functioning properly for the age. And the biggest slap in the face is the fact that she is coming out with a book soon about raising children. My husband stands behind her knowledge on the subject, while he also agrees that she has made bad choices as a parent herself! My question is, what do I do? How can I be around these people and pretend like all is okay? Is it enough to try and spend as much time as I can with these kids so they can know what normal is? I love my husband very much but I am scared on SO many levels. I can use all the advice I can get!
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female
reader, anonymous, writes (18 September 2010): I would never do a secret phone call, if you are sure about what you are saying , what is wrong with having the courage of your convictions , why hide ANON truth is the truth.
The Book!!! will you be going to her book sign???????
You make a lot of assumptions, seem's autistic, seems alcoholic, get FACT'S or get the authorities to get FACTS.
The Book !!!!!!!! WHY is it the BOOK that has finally made you consider reporting her i ask myself, after all these years of abuse.hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
spunky monkey.
A
reader, anonymous, writes (18 September 2010): I once had a neighbor who worked for Human Rights and got drunk and beat up his wife everyday! Your sister in law is pretty much the same! You need to inform the authorities...an anonymous call should do it. You cant do anything yourself, this problem is way too deep.Please reach out for help as soon as possible.
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A
female
reader, Supreeya  +, writes (18 September 2010):
You need to notify some kind of authorities over this. If you think a child(or 3 children in this case) are being mentally or physically abused then it is Your responsibility to help them. Spending time with them is not enough. The situation behind closed doors could be far worse than what the bruises are telling you. As if they aren't enough. Dont worry about your husband or what other family members may think if they find out you called for help. Perhaps they are blocking out the signs to prevent them from seeing/dealing with the ugly truth. Please get these children some help/support before it is too late!
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A
male
reader, CaringGuy +, writes (18 September 2010):
An anonymous call to CPS is a good start. There's clearly something wrong, and your husband is naturally going to stick up for her.
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A
male
reader, Shadow_Phathom_of_the_Opera +, writes (18 September 2010):
 Wow, really? I though my Father was bad. He's abusive, and he's writing books on counseling, and becoming a anger management teacher, when he's the one getting angry all the time. As pinktopaz said above, hypocrisy and contradictions lye amoungst us, like Tv show advertising "New and Improved". So to speak.
If I were the kids, I'd call in some sort of talk show host, (Dr. Phil Preferably), and would hope that things will get better. That's one way to deal with it. Also, as said earlier, worse comes to worst, you'll have to call Child Protective Services at some point... and perhaps a lawyer if needed.
All i can say is, good luck.
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A
female
reader, pinktopaz +, writes (18 September 2010):
Time to call CPS? If these kids look like they've obviously been beaten and they're around drugs, it's only bound to lead them down the wrong path being in a dysfunctional family like that. Yes, I think you should spend as much time with them as possible, but at the same time, if you really think they should be in that home, then you should call CPS to investigate.
As far as her book...a lot of people don't practice what they preach. And I certainly think it's a joke if her book about parenting is actually getting published. Maybe she does know about parenting, but she doesn't follow it. It's hypocritical to say the least, but just because she knows about parenting obviously doesn't mean that she follows it. You can know a lot about cooking, but it doesn't mean you're going to follow the recipe exactly and you're not going to take short cuts, substitute things, or add some things in or take some things out to get a better or worse result.
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