I just booked my 10 year old daughter for counselling and I feel like an utter failure. She's been through so much in her short life and most of it is my fault. She was born into a life with no father and a young single mother. I got post natal depression and barely survived, my mother raised my daughter for the first year. Technically I was there and lived with her I still kissed her head every night I still looked after her but if it wasn't for my mother she wouldn't have been properly cared for. I was 18, I could barely look after myself. My daughter and I lived with my mother for 3 years. Overtime my depression eased and I took over as primary carer but mum was always there in the background and had a tendency to take over. I met a man, fell in love and moved out of mums house and into our own together. I quickly fell pregnant and things seemed fantastic. Once the baby was born I once again fell into post natal depression trap. Only this time I had no help. I knew how to raise a baby but I was so depressed I could barely move and my partner quickly turned angry and violent. I took a lot of my depression out on my then 5 year old daughter, as did he. She was his emotional punching bag. She had issues with wetting her pants and I remember him screaming at her and her cowering in a corner. I remember him getting the babies nappies and making her wear them for a whole afternoon, many times. I remember him telling me in front of her that my daughter was retarded etc. He called her that to her face many many times. He treated her like dirt although I could see it through my depression haze I did nothing to stop it. He made me believe that this is what she needed to stop it. It made it worse. Things were emotionally abusive for me with him too, however when I moved with him into a new place while pregnant with our second son and away from family that's when the violence started. He was a drunk. He was abusive in all sense of the words and my depression and unhappinesses slowly drifted down to may daughter. His sons were perfect, they could never do wrong. However my daughter was cast aside. He was not loving to her and I truly had no love to give at the time, so she was left neglected. Eventually I left, but it was 6 years too late. Damage was already caused. She had seen me beaten and been emotionally abused herself for 6 years. A year later she's stopped having nightmares, she's stopped having accidents and our bond has grown. She has a step father he lobes her dearly and truly understands what she's been through because he has been through very similar himself. Yet she has problems, she hates herself, she says she has no friends, no body loves her, that the world is against her. She doesn't know how to be happy anymore and she's lost the capacity to love other people. Shes lost her compassion and shes lost her generosity. She used to be the most compassionate and generous child on the planet and now she can't even do it for herself... I don't really even understand why I'm writting this anymore. I guess I just need to get it out. Or maybe I want to share my daughters story. Maybe talking about it is easing my own mind. I don't know, but I'm determined to fix the problems I've caused for her. I've grown, I've straightened my life out, now its her turn.

3 Replies
Thank you for being so honest, you are very brave and strong. You sound like a great mum who has been through some shitty times. Are you getting some help for yourself, so you have a safe place to discuss what's going on with your daughter? I find as a carer I need a counsellor just to vent that stuff in a safe place, plus often my old stuff is triggered by something my child is going through. X
You have all been through alot and its a great start getting her some couseling. She sounds like she doesnt have alot of self confidence perhaps try and get her into a sport or hobby shr likes crafts or swimming or something that interests her something she can achieve and be proud of and start to build her confidence. But also dont stop the couseling shes going to need alot of time to talk about things.
Oh that's horrendous! For both of u, but the poor poor child :( :(