We hadn’t seen or heard from Daddy in 5 months. Mummy and Daddy kept fighting and all of a sudden he was gone. My sister, Megan, missed him so much, but I wasn’t so sure. He was mean to Mummy and he never told me why he left us. One day, Mummy told us that every two weeks, we would be able to see Daddy again. Megan was so excited! I still didn’t know how I felt, but I did want to know why he left us. Mummy looked worried about us seeing Daddy again, so I hugged her tight and told her I loved her.
The first time we saw Daddy, Megan was so nervous that the support lady who was there to help us had to calm her down. All of that was forgotten as soon as she saw Dad though! I watched her run into Daddy’s arms as they both cried together. I still didn’t know what to do, so I took Mummy’s hand and left.
The nice people at the support centre taught me some new games which I could play in the room while Megan and Daddy were there, too. I liked those games, and after a while, we were all playing games together! Sometimes I spoke to the nice people on my own, and sometimes with my Daddy.
One day, I wanted to hug Daddy again. I felt so happy that he was back in my life, and I finally understood what happened. I hugged Daddy and told him I loved him. Daddy said, “Ben, I love you too!”
We visited the contact centre often to see Daddy, and after a while, we could go outside together, eat lunch and go shopping! It was so great to have Daddy back in our lives, and I just knew how happy Megan was, too.
Thanks to the Voice of the Child, we got to have our first sleepover at Daddy’s new house, and it was amazing! Our family has changed quite a bit, but Megan and I love our Mummy and Daddy very much so it is all going to be okay now. It feels so good to feel happy again.
King’s Family, told by Ben, 5, 2023
