So I[18F] became the legal guardian of my younger sister[14F] after both our parents passed away, as we do not have any other relatives. I posted something similar to r/offmychest but that was more of a rant, and I thought it'd be a good idea to ask for advice here, as people on this subreddit are likely much more experienced in dealing with teenagers.Ever since our parents passed away, my sister has been acting like she never has before. She used to be so cheerful and bubbly all the time, and now she has daily, sudden outbursts of anger and mood swings for days. One moment, she'll be crying in my arms and grieving over our parents, and another moment she'll be slamming doors, cursing, yelling at me that it's all my fault they died and accusing me of not spending enough time with her or not caring about her. I know she doesn't mean any of the things that she says and that she just doesn't know how to cope with grief, but honestly, I don't know how to cope with grief either. I just don't let my sister see how devastated I am, because that's the last thing she needs after all that's happened.I try to find some spare time to hang out with her, I really do, but I'm also trying to find a balance between college, my studies and my part-time job as a translator and barely manage to make ends meet. I leave the house at 6:00 in the morning for college and once classes are over, I rush to my part-time job. I come back late, at around 10:00-11:00, as I often work overtime for extra money, so there isn't really a lot of time we get to spend together.Just yesterday, my sister did something that was the last straw for me. She came home with a man who she claimed was 17, but definitely did NOT look 17, more like 20 or older, and said he was her new boyfriend. What. I was left speechless. This guy was the literal definition of the creepy dude who sells drugs down the street. And he actually openly and casually admitted to me that he does sell and consume illegal substances. Now, I don't know whether he was just joking and messing with me or actually being truthful, but that was enough for me to grab the phone and call the cops. I got him to take a trip to the police station REAL quick.Needless to say, my sister did not take this well. But I wasn't having it either. Last night, I let anger get the best of me and lashed out at her, all while saying some things that I'm not proud of at all. I felt completely horrified at myself after that. I gave her some time to calm down, and then apologized to her and tried to work things out. But she's still incredibly upset and hasn't left her room all day.How should I go about this? I know she's doing all of these things out of anger, sadness and grief, and it breaks my heart, but I really don't know how to help her cope with everything that's going on, as I don't know how to either. I managed to afford therapy for her, and she goes there twice a week, but other than that, I'm not sure what to do. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. via /r/Parenting http://bit.ly/2JyOtan
No comments:
Post a Comment