Co Parent

[FullStop]

The father of my child is an abuser
When he is caught in the wrong he will call me names and communicate in abusive manners

He is manipulative

I told him to text or call my number for urgent or an emergency only

He can call my child mobile or wait for my child gets to his place to have a talk

He kept on calling my son and if he didn’t answer he would call text my number saying it was an urgent - which wasn’t

It’s nightmare

He forced my child to show him where I live using the excuse to give him a lift - there is not AVO in place but he doesn’t know my address

I didn’t talk to him for years but then I needed him to sign a transfer for a new school and we reconnected

I regret I did
I thought it would be good for my child but it was a mistake
When I needed him he wouldn’t be available or he would show up when things were already resolved

I don’t think my child has any idea of his manipulative behaviour
I told him to stop harassing me by emails text calls

I think it’s se for my child to have this life
I asked him how he feels about all this he said he is fine he is a teenager and he is happy
I booked family counselling for myself and him through headspace

[Riley-RO]

Hi FullStop,

Firstly, welcome to the forum and thank you for sharing a little bit about what’s been going on for you.

It sounds like this has been a really difficult time for you and I just wanted to validate how you are feeling and assure you that abuse like this is never okay! You deserve to be respected, and I can understand how distressing and frightening it must be for you to experience this from your child’s father.

It must be really exhausting and stressful to be experiencing this when your child has expressed that they are happy and fine and isn’t aware of how you are being treated.

I think it is amazing that you have taken the step to seek counselling support for you and your child, I really hope you connect with this and find it helpful. I can see how much you care for your child; they are lucky to have a parent like you!

I wanted to suggest some services and resources that you might find helpful. 

1800Respect is a free counselling service for those who have experienced or are experiencing domestic violence/ abuse. I think this would be a good service for you to connect with based on what you have described. They can help with making sure you are safe also.

Parentline Is a free phone counseling hotline that supports parents. They may be a good support to chat to. 

PANDA Has a free phone service for parents to chat and get some support. 

Beyond Blue Is a free online text or phone counselling service 

There are also some other DV support service options here

Thanks again for sharing. Just know your feelings are valid and you are not alone.