A
male
,
anonymous
writes: Dear Alice,My girlfriend's parents are recently divorced. She is 17. She lives with her mum at the moment, but her mum has taken to drinking and is constantly criticising her and making her feel awful, and they are constantly arguing. She has tried living with her dad but he is always out seeing other girls, and she did not want to be living alone for the majority of the time. Her mum has also started using my girlfriend's key to her dad's apartment to sneak around her Dad's flat, which has led to her Dad becoming annoyed at my girlfriend. Both parents criticise the other parent in front of my girlfriend, which makes her feel as if she is being used by them to 'get' at each other. I feel really bad for her and want to help, but don't really know what to do, and when I suggested councelling she reacted badly, thinking I was insinuating I no longer enjoyed her company due to her often depressed state as a result of her family problems. What can I do?
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Fancy yourself as an agony aunt? Add your answer to this question! A
female
reader, Phyrekiss +, writes (9 December 2005):
All you really can do is be there for her. You will have to just 'understand' what she is going through because so often parents getting divorced puts a strain on the children involved. Just be understanding in your demeanor and be readily available to talk with her if she chooses to do so. Patience is very important as well. She will love you for it in the end.
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