Today my daughter turns 13.

Today, I won’t see my daughter. Again. Another year, another birthday missed.

Today, a little girl in silent crisis will be forgotten, neglected and tossed aside by someone who should be her hero.

She will reminisce of the times she could run free, speak freely and be genuinely confident in all that she is.

She will think of the bright, neon pink shoes she really wants but is too afraid to come out of the torture of her silent struggle to just be herself…and wear those shoes like the little girl she used to be, would.

Today, a little girl becomes a teenager yet has been forced to feel like an adult for years.

Today, a little girl dies a little more inside on what should be one of the happiest days in her memories.

Today, a mother cries for the loss of a child that is still alive.

Parents, think twice before using your children as weapons in acrimonious break-ups. It doesn’t matter how angry you are. It doesn’t matter how much you want revenge.

DON’T USE YOUR KIDS TO GET IT

It may feel like you’ve won, but you’ve lost everything. You lost a child’s innocence and that child will never be the same again.

Today, think twice. Think about a little girl slowly dying inside, losing herself more and more as the days go by. My little girl. And don’t make the same mistake her father did.

Children need both parents…

Reproduced with kind permission from Christina. We hope you get your little girl back very soon.