I am the aunt of a 17yo girl , that I am trying to save from herself and her Mom - my sister. Myself and my other neice, her older sister, are making a concerted effort to reach her..

before its too late but we need her Mom's cooperation and acceptance of her contribution to the problems - which she is in denial about. She is also ready to put the girl in a home before giving her own daughter her best effort. Her Mom is newly a Christian. How do we engage her Mom in our efforts if she refuses to see how much she contributed to these problems? My sister had a relationship w/her oldest child's father (African-American)but none with the troubled-one's father (Mexican) because he disappeared the minute she told him she was pregnant. She neglected the child in many ways. The child is failing school, dating an illiterate, hanging out during the week past her curfew, has a pathetic lier for so-called girl-friend, skipping school, yelling at her Mom, not calling when she'll be late getting home.. She has goals (one is to be an actress.) Since she skips school, her other goal is to get her GED - what kind of goal is that? Can we get her to take school seriously again - she will now have to do summer school. Because she's considered very pretty by guys (she stops them in their tracks), she has a hard time making real good female friends so she doesn't have any good ones and the one she has is a phony who is supremely jealous of her and is only around for the guys that my niece doesn't want, she grabs. She is very naive, expects people to be like her and doesn't see how other people see her nor does she understand that she has surrounded herself with pointless people. Also, we have mental issues in our family on mother's side which her Mom refuses to see could be part of the problem - she thinks she's just 'hard-headed.' My neice and I are trying to get the girl working, change her circle of friends, get her back into her studies (like she was before she met this guy in Jan.) and get her counseling but we need her Mom's help. Her Mom, firstly, needs to back up and be way more patient with her. She needs to sign the papers once we find a program. HELP

In Raising Children Asked by Kazi Age : 45 1 Answer