The Student Room Group

Moving out at the start of year 13

There is a lot to say, and many anecdotes I could give, however I will summarise my question as much as possible.

I am currently 17 years old in year 12, and unironically am given less freedom by my parents than a typical year 7.
Some of the things I’m not allowed to do include:
Sleepovers
Having a girlfriend
Drinking alcohol
Being out when it’s dark (which is around 4pm currently in the Uk)
Being out at all unless my parents know exactly where I’m going and give me permission, cannot walk outside my house even to a neighbour’s house without giving a reason
Going to my friends’ houses in general, day or night.
Etc.
This creates many problems for me as it leaves me feeling like I’ve had the best years of my life stolen from me, and I am currently living a second life my parents know nothing about (I have a girlfriend of 10 months, have done other things I wasn’t meant to on countless occasions). But it has been difficult, stressful and leaves me both demotivated and with little time for productivity, as every chance I get to I use to see my girlfriend, and am constantly running around.
I am currently working two jobs, one of which they know nothing about
My parents can be violent and hurtful, and I have an innate hatred for them because of events that have taken place during my lifetime so far.
I want to leave as soon as possible, and would prefer not to wait until uni. I would be grateful for any advice , I turn 18 at the start of year 13
Original post by Marh-
There is a lot to say, and many anecdotes I could give, however I will summarise my question as much as possible.

I am currently 17 years old in year 12, and unironically am given less freedom by my parents than a typical year 7.
Some of the things I’m not allowed to do include:
Sleepovers
Having a girlfriend
Drinking alcohol
Being out when it’s dark (which is around 4pm currently in the Uk)
Being out at all unless my parents know exactly where I’m going and give me permission, cannot walk outside my house even to a neighbour’s house without giving a reason
Going to my friends’ houses in general, day or night.
Etc.
This creates many problems for me as it leaves me feeling like I’ve had the best years of my life stolen from me, and I am currently living a second life my parents know nothing about (I have a girlfriend of 10 months, have done other things I wasn’t meant to on countless occasions). But it has been difficult, stressful and leaves me both demotivated and with little time for productivity, as every chance I get to I use to see my girlfriend, and am constantly running around.
I am currently working two jobs, one of which they know nothing about
My parents can be violent and hurtful, and I have an innate hatred for them because of events that have taken place during my lifetime so far.
I want to leave as soon as possible, and would prefer not to wait until uni. I would be grateful for any advice , I turn 18 at the start of year 13


If your parents are violent and hurtful, I want you to go to school and tell your teachers now. That's not a safe environment for you to be in and the school should be able to help you - call the police for you, get you in touch with social services, etc etc etc. Also worth contacting charities like www.childline.org or any local charity you might have that helps teenagers with family problems. But the biggest thing you need to do, truly, is inform your school. It can be very scary to do this but it's the right thing to do. I had a friend do this and I was positively impressed by how protective schools are of students in the UK.

Hope you'll be OK,
SY
Reply 2
Original post by Scotland Yard


If your parents are violent and hurtful, I want you to go to school and tell your teachers now. That's not a safe environment for you to be in and the school should be able to help you - call the police for you, get you in touch with social services, etc etc etc. Also worth contacting charities like www.childline.org or any local charity you might have that helps teenagers with family problems. But the biggest thing you need to do, truly, is inform your school. It can be very scary to do this but it's the right thing to do. I had a friend do this and I was positively impressed by how protective schools are of students in the UK.

Hope you'll be OK,
SY


Thank you for your reply,
I’ve considered doing that several times, however I’m not British. I have an Egyptian Passport (that expires in December 2025 and that I likely won’t be able to renew) as well as indefinite leave to remain. I don’t know how the law applies to me, and whether or not if my parents were deemed unfit to parent I’d be forced to return to Egypt where my next of Kin are. And if my parents ARE found fit to parent, then my having contacted my school or childline would only worsen the situation at home.
I have spoken to childline in more depth about this, and told them a few past anecdotes, mainly for advice, not to get any legal action to take place. To clarify, as I may have worded this misleadingly, “Violent and Hurtful” as of right now only means my parents have a tendency to shout, gaslight, play the victim and use aggressive body language. My mum did shove me a few days ago twice, for trying to stop her from spanking my six year old sister, but it did nothing to me and I didn’t budge. It is worth mentioning though that she was offended I didn’t let myself move and braced my feet, saying things like how dare I stand up to her etc.
There was a time two or three years ago when they were more comfortable with physical violence, nothing as bad as punching but a slap to the face etc. It has not happened since then, maybe because I’ve been avoiding their rage or because they’ve grown out of it, however I can’t say they hit me now.
Legislation aside, I am also conflicted because I have a brother in year ten and a six year old sister who, despite them occasionally spanking her and getting excessively angry with her at times, loves them very much. They spoil her with toys, take her to play dates with her friends and birthday parties etc. I simply cannot take that away from her. And my brother who’s never worked a day in his life aside from in school, and who is very dependent on others to do things for him, would not cope even if my siblings were somehow fostered (which would be the best case scenario, as I don’t see my parents becoming more lenient after having authorities called on them. If anything they’d get tougher).

Because of that, I believe that me gaining my independence first is the only way for me to be able to help my siblings, even if it’s just legally or as the eldest brother.
Please let me know if there’s anything I seem to misunderstand or should be better informed about.
Original post by Marh-
Thank you for your reply,
I’ve considered doing that several times, however I’m not British. I have an Egyptian Passport (that expires in December 2025 and that I likely won’t be able to renew) as well as indefinite leave to remain. I don’t know how the law applies to me, and whether or not if my parents were deemed unfit to parent I’d be forced to return to Egypt where my next of Kin are. And if my parents ARE found fit to parent, then my having contacted my school or childline would only worsen the situation at home.
I have spoken to childline in more depth about this, and told them a few past anecdotes, mainly for advice, not to get any legal action to take place. To clarify, as I may have worded this misleadingly, “Violent and Hurtful” as of right now only means my parents have a tendency to shout, gaslight, play the victim and use aggressive body language. My mum did shove me a few days ago twice, for trying to stop her from spanking my six year old sister, but it did nothing to me and I didn’t budge. It is worth mentioning though that she was offended I didn’t let myself move and braced my feet, saying things like how dare I stand up to her etc.
There was a time two or three years ago when they were more comfortable with physical violence, nothing as bad as punching but a slap to the face etc. It has not happened since then, maybe because I’ve been avoiding their rage or because they’ve grown out of it, however I can’t say they hit me now.
Legislation aside, I am also conflicted because I have a brother in year ten and a six year old sister who, despite them occasionally spanking her and getting excessively angry with her at times, loves them very much. They spoil her with toys, take her to play dates with her friends and birthday parties etc. I simply cannot take that away from her. And my brother who’s never worked a day in his life aside from in school, and who is very dependent on others to do things for him, would not cope even if my siblings were somehow fostered (which would be the best case scenario, as I don’t see my parents becoming more lenient after having authorities called on them. If anything they’d get tougher).

Because of that, I believe that me gaining my independence first is the only way for me to be able to help my siblings, even if it’s just legally or as the eldest brother.
Please let me know if there’s anything I seem to misunderstand or should be better informed about.

This story did absolutely nothing to convince me to retract my previous post. So your parents are nice sometimes. They are still violent - shouting, gaslighting, playing the victim and using aggressive body language may not be the most violent things you can do but it's still violence, and things you're definitely better off growing without.

I hate to be so black and white about things because things are rarely clear-cut. Your siblings would probably suffer from not being with your parents when they're treating them nicely. But then again you've just told me how they like to emotionally blackmail you three, act aggressive against you and how they also use corporal punishment against your younger siblings (going as far as shoving you because you stood in the way), so you and your siblings would also massively benefit from being removed from that environment. You might think that it's not so bad but one day you'll meet somebody and tell them about this and they'll be just as horrified as I am that you seemed to think this was not too bad, and you'll see their face, the same face I had when I read your post, and maybe you'll believe they have a point.

I have absolutely zero clue what's the legal standpoint for children with IDR in the UK leaving home, so I'd seek advice on that first (with childline, probably? I would be amazed if they hadn't encountered similar concerns before), but I am still absolutely convinced that you should follow my original advice and report it to your school.

If you're concerned about you reporting this and not going anywhere and things becoming worse, I'd like to acknowledge that's a possibility, but we do care an awful lot about childhood safety so it's a small possibility. In addition, you can probably speak with childhood about potentially gathering evidence against your parents? Videos, recordings, and, a very sad piece of evidence, if/when they take it too far and they actually leave physical marks on any of you due to their violence.

I wish I could say more but I don't know much more than this. For any concerns, please carry on getting in touch with childline, and please, do report it to your school.

Wish you the best
SY
Reply 4
Original post by Scotland Yard

This story did absolutely nothing to convince me to retract my previous post. So your parents are nice sometimes. They are still violent - shouting, gaslighting, playing the victim and using aggressive body language may not be the most violent things you can do but it's still violence, and things you're definitely better off growing without.

I hate to be so black and white about things because things are rarely clear-cut. Your siblings would probably suffer from not being with your parents when they're treating them nicely. But then again you've just told me how they like to emotionally blackmail you three, act aggressive against you and how they also use corporal punishment against your younger siblings (going as far as shoving you because you stood in the way), so you and your siblings would also massively benefit from being removed from that environment. You might think that it's not so bad but one day you'll meet somebody and tell them about this and they'll be just as horrified as I am that you seemed to think this was not too bad, and you'll see their face, the same face I had when I read your post, and maybe you'll believe they have a point.

I have absolutely zero clue what's the legal standpoint for children with IDR in the UK leaving home, so I'd seek advice on that first (with childline, probably? I would be amazed if they hadn't encountered similar concerns before), but I am still absolutely convinced that you should follow my original advice and report it to your school.

If you're concerned about you reporting this and not going anywhere and things becoming worse, I'd like to acknowledge that's a possibility, but we do care an awful lot about childhood safety so it's a small possibility. In addition, you can probably speak with childhood about potentially gathering evidence against your parents? Videos, recordings, and, a very sad piece of evidence, if/when they take it too far and they actually leave physical marks on any of you due to their violence.

I wish I could say more but I don't know much more than this. For any concerns, please carry on getting in touch with childline, and please, do report it to your school.

Wish you the best
SY


Once again thank you for your reply. I won’t even lie to you it is a possibility I’ve considered many times before and one that I am certainly considering now. I have already given my passport and BRP (with indefinite leave to remain) to one of my workplaces to hold onto for safe keeping, because, while they haven’t done it before, my parents have threatened to make us go back to Egypt if we “lost sight of our main goal” being education here. Essentially meaning doing something that was severely not in line with their views, or I assume trying to get the police involved. This hopefully means they cannot leverage any of these documents against me. They don’t know I’ve done that yet, and I’m going to inform my Safeguarding lead in school of my actions and ask for advice. I would definitely need to speak to my brother first about calling any legal bodies on my parents, because as much as I have thought about it before, it would be a massive life altering decision for him. However if for whatever reason one of them hit me before then I’d like to think I wouldn’t be consulting my brother, but simply telling him that I will be informing the school and by extension the police.
Please don’t take it as me trying to discredit you or anything you’re saying. I’m grateful for your concern on my behalf and the reality check you’re giving me. I simply haven’t registered in my head that this is a cause of severe concern yet. This is all I grew up with, and it was much much worse in the past. And when I compare it to the stories I hear about children being severely assaulted by their parents, to a life altering degree , it makes me doubt whether or not what I’m complaining about is even worth the complaint. However I know I am unhappy with the situation, and I know that sooner or later I planned to cut my parents off almost entirely. I just feel very uneasy whenever I think about getting the school involved, or any legal authority, because I don’t know what the aftermath will be and can’t plan around it. I have a voice recording of the incident with my sister, I started a voice memo and kept it in my pocket soon after my mum had pushed me. It picked up on a lot of shouting and my mum actually spanking my sister etc, however it is all in Arabic so its validity as actual evidence is something I’m not sure of yet. I can’t take videos of them for obvious reasons, because I wouldn’t be able to be subtle and they’d see the camera in their face.
But yes, legal documents are far away from their reach now and they don’t know it yet. I don’t know how they’ll react but depending on how extreme it is I’ll get in contact with the police.

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