My dad

[Guest]

Me and my dad's relationship confuses me sometimes. I usually do not see him because he works for weeks at a time out of state. When he is home however, his mood is very on and off. Some days he is very carefree and happy, but other days he is very stressed and lashes out at my siblings and I. He drinks alcohol often, maybe every other day or so. Sometimes he yells at me for not doing something and then he will hit me. It is weird however because this abuse is normal to me. It is like after an hour passes, he forgets that he hurt me and will joke with me. Sometimes I am very vigilant around him, but I am also sometimes very happy to see him. Is this normal behavior?

[2NDFLOOR]

Glad you reached out. That sounds challenging to deal with. Have you talked about this with dad? Trusted person? It might be helpful to talk to a counselor even a family counselor to help with the family dynamics. It’s not for me to say that something is normal or not but it’s not okay to be abused physically or emotionally so if that is how you feel reach out to a trusted person for help or call us anytime. If you feel unsafe you can contact DCP&P at 1-877-652-2873, this is child protective services. You can call us anytime to chat about this or anything at 888-222-2228.