LET DOWN | My mum would rather chat to her friends on the phone than spend time with me.

DEAR DEIDRE: MY neglectful mum doesn’t care about me. I live with my dad and I barely see her.

When I do visit, she plonks me in front of the TV and talks on her phone to her friends.

I’m a 13-year-old boy and feel she’s abandoned me.

She’s broken all her promises, such as taking me to buy some clothes and paying my mobile phone bill, yet she always has money to spend on things she likes.

I don’t think I’m in her thoughts at all.

DEIDRE SAYS:

Your mum’s behaviour is so hurtful, but it’s not your fault.

Sadly, some people aren’t cut out to be parents. Try talking to her and asking her to spend more time with you.

And talk to your dad too about your concerns.

My support pack Young And Worried may help you.

Source: The Sun Newspaper – Deidre Sanders – 11 FEB 2022

Vocabulary

• let down disappointed, failed.
  Tradução > desapontado, frustrado, desiludido.
• would rather used for saying that you would prefer to do something or that you would prefer that something happened.
  Tradução > preferiria, preferir.
• neglectful not giving someone or something enough care or attention.
  Tradução > negligente, omisso.
• barely hardly, only just, only with great difficulty or effort.
  Tradução > mal, quase não.
• plonk to put something down somewhere in a careless or noisy way.
  Tradução > colocar, jogar, deixar, largar (de qualquer jeito)
• in sb’s thoughts being thought about a lot by someone.
  Tradução > nos pensamentos de alguém, ser lembrado.
• hurtful causing emotional pain.
  Tradução > doloroso, prejudicial, ofensivo, nocivo, danoso.
• cut out to to be well-suited for a certain position or role.
  Tradução > nascer para, talhado para, servir para.
• concern a worried or nervous feeling about something.
  Tradução > preocupação.
  
  Exercícios sobre o texto:

Definitions: (Waytogo and Dictionary Cambridge/Collins/Longman/Macmillan/Oxford/Lexico)