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Grandmother Concerned About Mother’s Abuse of Grandchildren

Question:

I am a grandmother of two children ages 5 and 3. I think their mother is emotionally and mentally abusing them. She threatens them by telling them that they will never see their family again. She tells the 5-year-old that he is not “right in the head” and that she is sending him off to military school. She locks both of them in a room with no windows or inside doorknob and tells them that they can’t come out until they stop crying. They are scared. She has moved nearly a day’s drive away from me. My son is away from home and won’t be returning for four months. Children need love and affection. How can I prove that she is emotionally abusing them?

Answer:

 

With your son gone, your best course of action is to contact Child Protective Services in the children’s state. You can tell CPS who you are only if you want to. If you do tell them who you are, you will have the privilege of checking back to see if the case is being investigated and who the caseworker is. The caseworker in turn will most likely provide you with his or her contact information so you can talk about their findings.

The investigation usually begins with a conversation between the children and the caseworker. It often takes place at school or preschool when the mother is not present. This way, the kids feel safer to share information. The bottom line is that the treatment your grandchildren are receiving at the hands of their mother is unacceptable and can have a lasting effect on their emotional ​health.