I (21F) have two sisters. They are twins; let's call them Sister 1 and Sister 2.

Both of my sisters have had on and off drug addictions for the past ten years - specifically addictions to meth. Sister 1 was the first to start doing it ten years ago, up until three years ago, when she finally went to rehab and got clean for the sake of her three children. Sister 2 started doing it about five years ago; there were likely various reasons why, but the one that I heard was that Sister 1 told her that she "didn't understand what she was going through" (referring to her former drug addiction, when she was still dealing with it), so Sister 2 started doing it with her to "bring them closer", meanwhile Sister 2 also has one child of her own.

Because of their drug addictions, both of my sisters' kids have been through a lot. It's already hard enough, because a parent with a drug addiction can be... absent, at times, even after they've gotten clean. However, there are other factors that made situation even worse for these kids.

For Sister 1, she was not only doing drugs, but also cheating on her husband (who was aware of everything, and was being neglectful in his own ways as well) with her drug dealer. That drug dealer was not only neglectful of those kids, but physically abusive of them. Luckily, once Sister 1 realized this and got proof of it, she left him, filed a restraining order against him, and finally went to rehab, as well as moved closer to me and my parents.

After that, my parents and I started getting closer with Sister 1 and her kids. My mom and I try to stay involved in Sister 1's kid's lives, as all three are under the age of ten, with each of them having ADHD and/or behavioral problems. Unfortunately, my sister can sometimes be... neglectful of these difficulties that her children face, or even belittling of it. And I get it, sometimes it can be tiring raising three kids, but she does get help from her husband (who she is now in touch with and co-parenting with), but I still think she could handle it better. For example, she will leave the kids alone in the house while she smokes cigarettes, or will sit with them while they play, but be on her phone the whole time. She only really talks to them once they have spoken to her, unless they are arguing with each other. And it's so frustrating to me - because, yes, these kids have behavior problems, but it's mainly because they are doing whatever they can to get some attention. And I know they have it in them to be smart and responsible while being kids and having fun - in fact, my mom and I have seen small differences in them as we have been able to spend time with them - but so often, my sister either expects everything or nothing from them, which are not good expectations to have for anyone, but especially children.

Now, let's get to Sister 2. She is still doing meth, and is heavily addicted. It's... jarring to even look at her. Because, growing up, she was always a bit chubbier. My whole family is, really, including myself. But now... she's skin and bones. And she's constantly paranoid, frantic, and has a lot of mood swings.

Thankfully, though, her only child has never gotten as involved in that part of her life as Sister 2's kids did, and Sister 2 can be neglectful, but never abusive. But, the child still struggles with a lot. Their dad - Sister 2's husband - will berate my sister; he physically abuses her and calls her names, such as b*tch, drughead, and other inappropriate names. And I understand that he is upset, but one thing I have learned over the past ten years is that berating someone for being on drugs isn't going to encourage them to go clean, especially when they are as deep into it as Sister 2 currently is. But what really gets me is that Sister 2's husband will say all of that in front of their child. At one point, the child (who is under the age of ten) was even calling Sister 2 those names on their own. Eventually, fortunately, they grew out of it, but they were still being exposed to this toxic relationship. I hoped, though, that maybe they were having a little bit of a better home life than Sister 1's kids. I thought, at least Sister 2's child hasn't been physically abused.

And that leads us to why I made this post, and needed to get everything off my chest. Today, I found out that Sister 2's husband, unbeknownst to anyone, including Sister 2, has been regularly physically abusing their child. He will push the child up against walls, verbally abuse them, and even squeeze their face like a ball. He has been doing it all when no one is around, and their child has been keeping quiet about it because the husband told them that they would be in big trouble if they did.

It's just... depressing, infuriating, and heartbreaking. All of these kids are such good kids, who could end up having such happy lives, but I worry that their own parents have already ruined it for them. Sure, they're still young, but these early years of development are very important for children - they set up standards for behavior, boundaries, relationships, and so much more. I wish I could adopt them. I know it's unrealistic, and, at the end of the day, I can't take on four children under the age of ten when I am only 21 and single. But they deserve so much more, and it's so so so frustrating how my sisters and their husbands can't see that themselves, and even if they do, they don't even attempt to deliver on the things they deserve.

And to be honest, this is all just the worst of what has happened to these kids. I could probably write an entire book on all that has happened. I wish I was joking. I just hope that, as these kids grow up, my parents, myself, and the mentors they meet (such as teachers), can help them become better and happier people than their parents are.