Teen Cracks Under Pressure As Controlling Dad Enforces Insane Routine, Mom Refuses To Step In

The YTAs are completely unhinged. How is this "parenting"?! Good lord.

Poor child. Both mom and dad have set into stone that Emma will move out as soon as she turns 18 and will cut them both out of her life. Mom has failed Emma by staying with her dad who is controlling and a*****e.

OP can also check out the laws in their region of the age when someone can legally move on their own and withdraw parent control. In Manitoba, that age is 16 or 17.

Where I live this would be medical abuse. ADHD is a mental health condition and where I live 14 year olds and above can choose their treatment (as long as it's doctor approved) without their parents consent. So here yes call CPS and report she's being denied medication she needs and wants. Frankly I'd rather try doing something than nothing. I'd also be letting her know as soon as she's 18 she can come live with me. Without telling her parents of course. Day she turns 18 drive over and take her as long as she's willing. Be prepared to buy everything she needs.

I don't know about the USA, but here in the UK this would absolutely be classed as abuse and denying a 16 year old the medication prescribed by her doctor for a diagnosed mental illness is a criminal offence under the Children's and Young Person's Act.

I had “strict” parents growing up (which only made me go sneaking around behind their back and lie about stuff). This is beyond strict. These rules would be bad for anyone’s mental health, let alone someone with ADHD. A proper parent with a child with ADHD would be researching the best way to help, talking to therapists or doctors who specialise in ADHD. He basically has no idea what to do so just took away everything from her thinking that would help

That girl might very well run away and never look back

From context I conclude that the girl is homeschooled/remote schooled, so not even gets out of the house and to a school building. So nobody outside her parents and siblings ever meet her in person. Where I live, this is child abuse and you absolutely need to contact authorities. That this is cruel was proved by a king a couple of hundred years ago, who raised kids without social contact and enrichment, because he wanted to know which language these kids would speak naturally. He never knew, kids died due to lack of social contact. Later experiments confirmed that this does not work. For the kid in question it is even more horrid, because she is sick and her siblings seem to be treated totally different

Emma is being denied medical treatment prescribed to her by a doctor and being alienated from family. “It’s only for ADHD” is a s**t way of looking at it. It’s setting her up for difficulty later in life. Call CPS.

There isn't actually severe abuse going on. It is unfairly strict, sure, but she's not being neglected and no physical abuse is happening. The only thing op has on him is refusing to let his daughter take her ADHD medication, and that is still not enough of a reason if the only reason is to get her grades up, which they are without her medication. Kids, especially older teens, in state care do not get all of their mental health needs provided for, or it's a toss up depending on how the foster parent cares for the kids. Teens get moved around foster homes a lot, and some of them are in worse conditions than where OP's niece is. I highly doubt it would end in the niece being taken, anyways, because of her age. CPS would also look at how the other kids in the house are being treated. If the mother is contemplating divorce, and is having marital problems due to her husband handling the kids, this may be the result and then she will be able to make a case and gain more than 1/2 custody.

Nope, report it to ALL agencies you can think of. Call the police to do a welfare check and say it’s because your niece hasn’t contacted you in X number of days or weeks and you’re worried about her safety—then detail the treatment she’s been receiving to them so they understand the context. Do the same when calling CPS and the school counselor. Get as many reports filed against BIL as possible then make sure your sister’s lawyer knows where to get copies of them, and BIL’s chances at 50-50 custody will disappear into thin air. His chances at any custody will disappear as well. He MIGHT end up with extremely limited, extremely monitored visitation anywhere but his home and never be allowed to be alone with his daughter ever again.

If I were the kid I would go on strike and stop working completely, get 0 on the tests

A word of warning to absurdly strict parents (not that any of those would be reading this, nor open to introspection enough to take advantage of this advice). I had a neighborhood friend who was treated like this. A lot of it came from religion in this case. This girl was a pretty good kid, at least in our pre teens. She wasn't straight A, but she certainly wasn't in danger of failing anything. Some people simply are not academically inclined, especially if the extra study time required for someone less 'gifted' is taken up by chores (lots of chores I remember), babysitting younger siblings, and bible study/church events. We were noncommercial friends by mid teens because I was a 'bad influence' and I got tired of getting dragged to church with her family, but like many of those sheltered and isolated kids, she rebelled ASAP. I heard through the grapevine she was pregnant at 17. I guess she managed to sneak just enough freedom for that.

Wow. Something happened with my brother and nephew along these lines. My nephew was going around telling his friends that my brother was beating him, broke his rib punching him, broke his eye socket from a beating and was telling people a scar on his shoulder was because he had been shot. A few night ago, he ran away and my brother happened to speak to all his detractors and the parents of, and all this was news to him. Turns out the 15 year-old likes to lie. He was d**g tested and admitted to a psyche ward last night after being found on the run. Im that situation i would deem it necessary to put her on lockdown, which is exactly what my nephew will be going into when he's discharged from his hospital stay. Then off to military school. She deserves better.

NOT comparing Emma to an animal, but if you heard a dog being treated like this, what would you think? Is the SPCA be a better call? Two therapists were fired because "he couldn't run the appt"? School has no one concerned about a 16 yo girl locked down tight? Can she pass a note to someone? Can she borrow A friend's phone to call Aunt or a grandparent? IF she makes it to 18, she'll be a puff of smoke. Who will Dad t*****e then? This behavior isn't going to go away just because she leaves. Is Mom or the other kids important enough to do something? Maybe not CPS, but some sort of request for school counselors to be involved? They're mandated reporters. If it gets bad enough, they can report. OP may be strong enough to get through this, but I'm guessing she's feeling pretty hopeless. If she does something drastic, how will all the people saying " that's too extreme" feel?

That poor child. That is outright abuse, and the isolation of a teenager cannot be underestimated. I would talk to the school, then CPS. Grades mean Fk all further down the line. Adhd people find it incredibly hard to study unless it's a hyper focus. I hope that poor child escaped and goes No Contact with her parents. And Fk those YTA ba$tard$ 😡

Alarms on doors AND windows? What if there is a fire? This has gone beyond strict. Speak to the school before this escalates wildly out of hand.

Of course the former social worker says "YTA." Don't ever call CPS because they consistently make things worse. Only when some kid gets unalived do they scratch their heads and ponder what could have been different. And don't even start with the "Godly" parents who abuse their kids in isolation. Thanks, Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrand, for commenting "YTA" from your prison cells.

The aunt needs to know how Emma could become emancipated from her parents. 16 is old enough. And then help her do that. Because no matter what the batcrap crazy YTAs say, this is abuse. Imagine if she was kidnapped, rather than their daughter? It would be exactly the same treatment. Emma needs out of that house.

And the parents will wonder "why don't we ever hear from our kids?" Actions have consequences. I was no contact with my father for years. He's now gone, so the world is a safer place.

I dont think CPS will intervene They will come out and investigate. talk to the children . But if there is no life threating issue going on and every one appears to be healthy they may not do any thing. My ex called CPS several times on me trying to deem me as an unfit mother . Especially when i had a house fire and we were living in an extended say hotel because my house was destroyed. I can completely understand the OP's concern this kid should be living a life of a kid. My son has ADHD caffiene had an opposite effect on him . Rather than hyping him up it toned him down. I wonder if there is a way the OP can get her out of the house for a few hours a week just to give the poor kid some sanity .. I think the parents are being too harsh . The mom needs to grow a pair and stand up to the father . They are going to end up with a rebelloius kid who resents her parents.

Man, this some Ruby Franke levels of Effed up. Hope the kid can move out with auntie.

Holy s**t a YTA ex social worker how many kids got left in a b u s I v e homes cos of her vile attitude 🤬, I need an update , cos Emma was SCREAMING OUT FOR HELP ! n if she didn’t get it then chances are she’s no longer with us !ADHD is not helped like that ffs what that vile father is doing is using it as away to be a b u I si ve ! she’s 16 , n forcing this cos of bloody grades is totally unacceptable! n the mother needs to take all her kids n leave !! Ok not always easy but he’s demented !! and Emma’s either gonna run away or end it all FACT please give us an update

There's a really easy solution to As in English and History and Cs in maths. As long as she has the basics needed for future life (like for personal financial management), ditch the maths. Unless you're doing a career that needs it, Trig is pretty decorative. Load up on the English, History, maybe things like Social Studies and work towards things the daughter loves as career goals. But this would mean easing the control.