Hi My name is brad Have a 15yo daughter who was evicted by her mother after a physical altercation It's tough, I try to talk and listen to her but to be quite honest her head is in the clouds. Anyway I have signed up to read through the forum ... View more

Hi @concernedperson, Thank you for sharing. It is really heart warming to see you looking out for this young girl and wanting to get her the support that she deserves. It must be really difficult for you to know that she is in this unfortunate and distressing position with an inadequate solution. Our forum is for parents of teenagers experiencing mental health difficulties. As you are a worker and dealing with someone in care, we'd encourage you to raise this with your employer or make a complaint to the relevant bodies in your country. As we are an Australian service, it is difficult for us to make more specific recommendations unfortunately. ... View more

Yeah I've had some experience here on a range of levels.  Part time jobs is excellent for young adults on so many levels.  It helps to build the resilience and emotional intelligence that employers are looking for along with providing them an employment track record (& the $ in the pocket won't hurt their independence or your bank account).  It'll give them not only a feel for what they want to be . . . but also what they don't want to be.  A great building block.   ... View more

My lovely, healthy children. My well-being. The ability to go my own way. ... View more

There is more to this than stigma. What else caused this girls suicidal depression? Do you know what she goes through in her life? Maybe talking to her would be the best place to start. Encouraging her to be open about having been landed with a psych diagnosis and a psychiatric management team isn't the easiest thing to take on at age 14. Give her time. And space. How about encouraging her interests that help her feel happy about life?  Finally.  Has your child been checked by a health professional to rule out any physical causes? Keeping dangerous items away from her will only help for so long. Anybody can get their hands on those implements easily. I hope you can help shift her focus away from harming herself by giving her ways to understand there is alot of hope and plenty of time to have everything she'd like in life. That this all will pass is an important point to get her to understand also. Being 14 can be a very scary time and emotional roller-coaster when hormones are going biserk inside us, you need to help her be aware it's not going to feel like this forever. Help her expand her focus. Take her to fun groups, go on health retreats, explore hobbies, just don't help her to be a suicidal depressed teenager by worrying about the fact she doesn't like talking about it. ... View more

I’m so glad things have improved. Sounds like you and ur wife are a good team 🙂 ... View more

4 years later.. I saw your post and wondered how your Don is now at 18? My daughter is 16 and struggling the same way now ... View more

He is only interested in computer games. I always un-plug the WiFi so he won’t play all the time. He says he wants to make friends but everyone he has talked to , he has nothing in common with and it is awkward. There was a time when he did make 2 friends and he was regularly going skateboarding with them, but then he stopped talking to them . They would call for months asking him to go skateboarding but he turned them down every time. So now they don’t call any more. I have tried multiple times to encourage him to go hang out with them but he never wants to, he says he didn’t have anything in common with them. I recently joined him in counseling and that was a huge struggle to get him to do that. ... View more

Loved reading these posts about what people are reading! That Claire Bowditch book looks great @ceskia22, I might have to check it out.   One of the best parent - related books I've ever read was "Confessions of a Domestic Failure" by Bunmi Laditan. I am in a book club with some family members and when it was my month to pick I chose that one and I really loved it. It also led to some beautiful discussions about motherhood and its identity, and the expectations on women to parent in specific ways that are unrealistic - the book is also HILARIOUS!    We're currently reading "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous" by Ocean Vuong. Its written quite beautifully and is about family, written from the perspective of a son to his mother about relationships and Vietnamese culture. I am not too far in yet, but so far so good!  ... View more

it’s impressive that she has a part time job! YoU’re doing something right there! Might be worth trying to reduce the number of issues you choose to argue with her on..... do an experiment and pretty well ignore some of the annoying ( but not life threatening) issues. Eg Let her choose whether she wants to shower or not. And sometimes all you can do is tell her calmly and caring my what you expect...... and then just breathe deeply if she doesn’t want to listen. I’ve got an obnoxious teenager too.... so I’m not saying there’s any magic. But I remember lots of Marly kids from school who turned into lovely adults a few years later. ... View more

Hey @sMarta    Thanks for checking in with a @Kiwiinoz.   It sounds like you're doing a lot to support your friend and their child who are moving to overseas. I'm sure your friend appreciates it a lot.    Also, I removed one aspect of your post - the part with the link - because sharing links goes against our guidelines. Our community guidelines can be found here. ... View more

I don't know why people don't like winters …I love winter. It really so beautiful. The term “winter wonderland” is so true. There is nothing like being the first person to tread across freshly fallen snow. It makes you feel like you're the only person who exists in the world at that moment and it is crisp, clear and so peaceful. ... View more

I agree with your thoughts. Drink in teen age can badly affect anyone brain. Being a parent we should know whats going on in our child's life …. ... View more

Children are innocent, naive and generally unaware of their actions. Hence they are most vulnerable to developing bad habits easily. If these practices go unchecked at early stages, they become rigid bad habits for life which are hard to give up. Being a parent we should guide them. ... View more

I made them install an app(Kruzr) which would block their mobile notifications, so that they can't use it while driving. It also notified the driver about speeding. Give it a try ... View more

Hey there @Rivers   Thank you so much for coming back on and updating us about your daughter - it is incredible to hear what's happened since we last heard from you, and hearing that things can improve and move forward is so powerful for other parents going through tough times with their teens.  What you said to your daughter made me  cry as i read it:   "I'm so sorry that you feel in pain to the extent that you want to hurt yourself; it must be horrible for you. If you ever want to talk to me or to anyone else, you just let me know or write me a note, or let someone else know... it doesn't have to be me. You're a gorgeous girl and this is not your fault, it's something that is happening TO you, and you're doing a good job trying to wrestle with it. We're immensely proud of you. It is really tough to go through what you're going through." What a beautiful compassionate response to your daughter's pain.    I am really moved to hear how far your daughter has come, and that she is ready to go back to a new school for a fresh start. I can hear how painful and challenging the path must have been to get to where you are now, but what a great outcome.    Thank you again for sharing.    ... View more

Hi, @Ollie-Finches. Firstly, I want to salute you for what you are doing. The stress that you are taking but still you take care of both, your father and your son. As you said that your son has  OCD contamination and your father recently had a fall. Taking care of them both at the same time is really a tough task and you are doing both is really good because I know that taking care of a person who has OCD is really hectic. I have a friend who also has OCD and taking care of him is very challenging. I regularly spend time with him, Take him out for a drive sometime, talks to him really politely and humbly and doctors also recommend this. But I would suggest you give some time to yourself. Gardening is really good but you should do some other things also like reading novels, go out with your friends, and watch some interesting stuff like movies or documentaries. One more thing I can suggest you, join some other discussions online and let others know about parenting tips as you are a parent, in fact, a very great parent.  ... View more

hey @Kitty_Karen , thanks for your input on this thread - it's been a few years since someone posted in this one!  Pokemon go seems to have faded into the back ground now, but great to hear it's still a  positive thing for your family.  Let us know if there's anything you'd like to talk more about  - we have many parents here giving insights and advice on a whole range of topics.    ... View more

@Toddjames thank you for these insights and ideas! Very true that there are so many different things we can try other than antidepressants. There are certainly enough studies out there that show that regular exercise is just as beneficial, if not more, than antidepressants!    I think it's important to remember that antidepressants can help some people, and that it's always good to speak to a doctor , or even a few doctors, about whether antidepressants could be useful.    ... View more

I know the family in this story. It had been a great journey for them to get to this point. Open communication is the key to maintaining good relationships with youth. ... View more

Hey @Manly123, how did that initial discussion go? It's hard to get the balance right of trusting your teen but also still putting boundaries in place to keep her safe.    @Zoesplace @motherbear do you have any ideas or experience you can share here? ... View more

i wonder how this turned out too, i feel for the mom wanting her daughter home but her partner feeling differently. i was in a relationship once where we disagreed so much about parenting and it felt like a really bad situation to raise a child in ... View more

Hi @Mitzi, I actually had a similar conversation in a different topic so feel confident in sharing and knowing that it is appropriate. At times of suicidal ideation it was suggested to me that I ask my daughter if she wanted to actually die, or if she wanted to escape the pain and struggle she was experiencing. It let me know where she is at and what I'm dealing with. As well as that, as I've learnt, it also takes away any shame for how she is feeling if she can use and hear the words 'die' and 'suicide' openly instead of feeling like it all has to be kept a big secret. Thanks to @Ngaio-RO for these true words.   How is everything going with your son now? I realise I'm a bit late with my response! I just think it's a great question you asked, and one that parents are still asking.  ... View more

Thank you Ngaio-RO. I will check it out now... :-)   ... View more

Thank you so much @Red21! Lovely and inspiring words  ... View more

@taziness want to jump in here and post about Screenagers? ... View more

Hi @Mitzi  My just 18 year old is in his first relationship and it has been a bit of a roller- coaster for me! I felt quite distanced from him for a while as he finished school, literally fled the nest(so to speak) and grew up over night. however i have kept the communication with him as strong as I can and we talk and text and he is sharing more and more (five months on).  I think the main thing I have learnt is to keep letting him know how much we love him and enjoy seeing him having fun and how much I loathe the social media side of these modern relationships! They seem so intense and there is no detachment time. (and they see things that distress them re their partner) We also keep encouraging him to spend time at home with his family even if its just for a meal or a chat. ... View more

Very keen to hear from @dazzlejazz too, hope you're doing ok! ... View more

Hi @ mirvat   It sounds like you guys have a great set up! Managing to entertain that age range is no easy feat, and I speak from experience. I know in my house there's a tendency to let the youngest have his way and just let the elder ones off attending but then we're not doing something as a family. I'd love to hear what sort of things you guys do. And how you went about introducing that as a tradition in the family. Have you always done it that way or did it evolve over time?   Also, if you're new to forums in general and would like a bit of a walk-through. Click here for our new 'how to' video. ... View more