Wish list written by a foster child in Oklahoma

Dreamcatchers for Abused Children is a non-profit organization devoted to reform of abused children. According to their website, their main goal is to “educate the public on all aspects of child abuse such as symptoms, intervention, prevention, statistics, reporting, and helping victims locate the proper resources necessary to achieve a full recovery.”

Recently, the organization shared a heartbreaking list written by a child from Oklahoma who ended up in the foster system after enduring severe abuse from both his parents who were heavy alcoholics. The boy never experienced love or the joys a childhood normally brings. All he ever knew was negligence and starvation.

Years went by before a neighbor noticed that horrible things were taking place in the boy’s home and decided to alert social services.

Once police intervened, the boy was taken to the Dreamcatchers for Abused Children organization who made sure the little one ends in a new and loving home.

Finally, when the organization found the perfect family and shared the great news with the boy, he made a wish list on which he included all the things he wanted in his new forever home.

Needless to say, the list melted many people’s hearts. Many took their time to comment how the things on the list are not something a child should dream of because they should have them automatically as most of them are just basic needs.

This is the list:

“Things I want in my family:
I want food and water.
Don’t hit on me.
A house with running water and lights.
I want love.
Mom and dad don’t fight.
I want no drugs.
Don’t kill my pets.
Help with school.
Nice clean clothes.
No lice. No bug in house.
Clean house.
Clean bed with covers.
Don’t sell my toys.
Treated fair.
Don’t get drunk.
Tv in house.
Let me keep my school stuff.
Nice shoes.
My own comb soap. Nice house and safe and heater coat.
Toothbrush.”

This list is a reminder that we should never take the things we have for granted.

16-year-old exposed her dad is cheating on mom in front of whole family

Dysfunctional families affect the quality of life of each of the members, especially the children. These troubled relationships cause chronic feelings of guilt, shame, or worthlessness, as well as attachment issues.

The teenager who shared her story on Reddit some time ago comes from such a family where the father is basically absent from his children’s lives despite living under one roof with them.

She took to the Reddit thread AITA to explain that it was her mother who took care of her and her siblings while the father wasn’t really involved in their upbringing.

One day, as he got home and left his mobile phone on the table, OP could read the message that he received at that moment which said, “last night was amazing, can’t wait to see you again” and some emojis.

After thinking about it for a short time, she decided to tell her mother that her dad was cheating on her. “She got pretty emotional which I felt bad about, and told me not to worry and that I should just worry about being a kid and let her take care of the rest, so I just let it go cause I didn’t want to hurt her more.”

One evening, the entire family gathered for dinner at OP’s grandfathers. There, her cousin shared the news that she started a new job. Everyone was pleased with the news, but then OP’s father told OP that she should be more like her cousin because she wasn’t any good according to him. But he didn’t stop there. In fact, he continued shaming OP telling her she should focus more on school and a lot more.

At one moment he mentioned that OP lacked respect for him, and that was the final straw.

At this point, OP had it enough. “Hard to respect you when you openly cheat on Mom and don’t even try to hide it,” she said in front of everyone.

The room went silent at first, but then her father started yelling both at her and her mother. The mom then took her kids and told her husband she shouldn’t be returning home.

Once home, OP started receiving text messages from her relatives who accused her of ruining the evening and the family. Her mom, however, told her “that she understood my frustration and I probably should have expressed it better privately but what’s done is done.”

Redditors were quick to comment that OP was NTA.