Hi @Elizabeth66 thank you for sharing your concerns with us. It would be hard to know how to approach the situation, especially if you're trying to avoid asking too many questions/angering her.    It sounds like this sudden change in your granddaughters nature. If she is experiencing anxiety or low moods for the first time I can imagine it would be hard for her to find the words to articulate this new experience.    It's reassuring to know she has caring guardians such as yourself and her mother ensuring she is okay. I am wondering how your daughter is coping with the situation? It must be hard for her too.   A  good first step could be to look into chatting with a counsellor to  get some support and advice on how to approach. Is that something your family would consider?    We have some great articles with tips on how to approach these conversations here if you're interested in reading. Our content is more suited to older kids and teenagers so I'll share this link which will take you to raising children's networks - they have lots of age specific information on how to help your granddaughter too.      Take care and we hope to hear back from you.    ... View more

Hi, there @keladeine thank you for sharing more about what's going on. I think it's very reasonable that you are in tears. Meeting the challenge of your son's mental health whilst navigating lockdowns/a pandemic wouldn't be easy.    You make a good point about support networks being overwhelmed at the moment. I can imagine it's something a lot of people are finding. Do you think having a counsellor to chat with would be helpful right now?    This is a great tool to use when looking for a psychologist. You can search with specifications on location, area of concern, bulk-billed etc.    Knowing how to think, feel and react to the goblins would be tricky. It sounds like the goblins are central to your sons thinking at the moment. I can understand why you'd be hesitant to encourage conversation in case it's enabling a thought pattern.    A professional could help as they are skilled in understanding those thought patterns and in responding to them. I hope that the current psych builds a relationship with you or that you find one who will work with you in supporting your son.    Let us know how you go with the parenting service if you use it and please feel free to vent your feelings whenever you need to.                  ... View more

Hi @keladeine    Thank you for deciding to share what you and your son are going through right now.  It must be heart-wrenching and concerning to see your boy struggling in this way. I wanted to ask if you have support at the moment? Be it a friend, community, relative or counsellor?    You sound like a supportive and proactive parent - getting a psychologist involved was a good idea, but I can understand why you'd be feeling unsure of what to do next given the lack of communication. So here are a few tips/ideas/links to resources that might be helpful for you right now:    If you find that you cannot get a meeting with the psych + school counsellor, exploring other support options is not a bad idea. There are so many different kinds of practitioners, therapy styles and approaches. I will send you some of our articles that go into different kinds of mental health professionals and therapies.  For example, It might be that your son clicks better with a social worker/peer worker or youth worker.  We offer a One on One support service for parents, which you can sign up for here. You'll receive four sessions with a family support service that can help you with tools/strategies/coming up with a plan.  Family support services are a good option when you want that collaborative relationship with his therapist. Ask Izzy is a great search engine for community services  - if you put in your local area and search family support, you'll be able to see what is available in your area.          I hope that info is helpful and gives you some options to consider.    You mentioned your son spoke to you about the goblins in his head, and I can imagine this was alarming for you to hear. But, firstly, I think it's positive that he told you this. It really shows that he trusts you and feels safe with you - which is invaluable for a teenager experiencing depression.              I'm not sure if you've already thought of this, but encouraging your son to discuss the goblins with his psych is a good first step. This would also be a good thing to discuss with the psych (if you can get a meeting) or a new psychologist/family support service.    Supporting a loved one with their mental health can be really confronting, but I want to assure you that your son is normal. Depression is a difficult but normal part of the human experience - and there is always hope for recovery.               Please know that you are very welcome to continue coming here to vent and get support with this situation.  We are here for you! ... View more

Hi there @Gramz    Thank you for coming to ReachOut to raise your question - it's a common one. It would be good to hear from some parents here who have been through this with their young person.    I have found some content for you to look at. Raising Children's Network has an extensive collection of resources that are really helpful. Click here to see their information on autism and sexual development - this particular article seems to cover off what you've mentioned here.    Do you have any support networks within the Autistic community? That could be one way of getting support and tips as well.    Keen to hear how you go with the links! ... View more

Hey there @Giffordm    It's so understandable that you need an outside opinion at the moment. Blending families is no an easy task and can bring out lots of different emotions/sides.    Dealing with nastiness is never easy and even less so when it's a delicate situation. Do you have any people in your life that you'd feel comfortable chatting to about this situation? It might be helpful to have someone you can vent to. Of course, you're also welcome to continue chatting about it here.    It sounds like you have a close relationship with the girls where they feel safe to tell you how they are feeling - that is so important and positive!   ... View more

Hey @danluke_36    It sounds very challenging trying to engage her but your persistent effort would be making a difference. Even if she isn't speaking, she would be able to see that you are by her side.    I understand your concerns when it comes to speaking for her. She clearly trusts you so there might be times where you do step in and other times where you might challenge her to express herself. I'm also happy to hear that you are getting some support with this too.    I am a big believer in getting different perspectives from health professionals to inform your choices. It definitely sounds worthwhile to investigate her lack of communication, just in case there is more to it.    You're doing really well! Please feel free to keep letting us know where you are at with this and we will help any way we can.  ... View more

Hi @danluke_36 as mentioned above, it sounds like you are a really solid person for this young woman. You mentioned feeling out of your depth but from what you've said so far, you are doing a really good job.   In regards to your questions:    Going into the counselling appointments might be a good idea, my only advice would be to gauge whether or not your friends daughter is comfortable with it. I know she isn't talking much so that might be hard. Maybe asking yes/no questions such as "Would you feel comfortable if I were to join you for one or two of your sessions?"    It might help open up some dialogue and will also show her how committed you are to her. My other  thought was that it  could be a good idea for you to also speak to someone - to get some support for you but also to get some tips on how to build her confidence.    I can understand why you're thinking of getting a second opinion - it definitely doesn't hurt to shop around and see what professionals say. It sounds like this young woman has had a lot of challenges to face in her life - I'm glad she has you on her side!  ... View more

Hey @AmIABadStepMom    I can sense just by reading through your post that you are a loving step-mum. The genuine care and warmth is very clear. There is nothing wrong with needing time alone or quality time spent with your husband.    I can imagine that hearing about your step sons living situation has probably contributed to feeling guilty but it's okay to have your needs as well.  ... View more

Hey there @Hermonie    Thank you  for sharing your concerns here, I can imagine that having the preschool share this with you would have been stressful. It is nice to hear that your son has a friend he feels comfortable spending time.    Many children don't easily transition into preschool/school learning environments and this can happen for a range of reasons. I'm confident that this is common but in saying this I do understand your need for support.    I have linked a service here that provide amazing content on all areas of development for children. It might be a better fit for you as our age range focuses on teenagers and young adults.    I hope you're able to find some answers and support there.  ... View more

Hi @Anonuseraz    This sounds extremely difficult for you and the whole family. I think it's really good you chose to open up about your concerns for your family and it sounds like you work really hard to ensure everyone is well and happy.    From what you're saying here it does sound like the mother of your children may be experiencing some difficulties with her mental health. Staying in bed until the late afternoon and reducing what she is able to manage around the house are two very strong signs that she could be struggling. Do you think that it might help the overall situation for your kids and you, if she was to seek out some support?    In the meantime, we are happy to chat through how this is making  you feel and some ways you might be able to approach the situation so there is a good outcome for your whole family.    I just wanted to let you know that our service is catered to young people between the ages of 12-25 years old. If your children are under that age bracket I would be happy to have a look to see what other supports may be available to you, to ensure the information is relevant to your children.    ... View more

Hi there @Sad_mother    Thank you for opening up about this here, I can only imagine how difficult it must be to be worrying about your daughter and the choices she is making at the moment. It sounds like she has been quite open with you about the stripping and drug use, is that correct?    I'm going to include some links to content we have on our site that might help you with with approaching the situation.   This is an article on how to talk about drugs with your teenager, this one talks about how to ask questions to encourage your teen to talk. They might be helpful in navigating conversations with your daughter.    How do you feel about opening up a deeper conversation with your daughter?  ... View more

Hey there @Nel_88 just wanted to check in with you and thank you for sharing this. It must be incredibly painful to be going through this with you daughter. I thought it might be helpful for me to show you a organisation called Raising Children's Network - they produce age specific content on everything you can think of. Our age bracket is more so focused on teens, so I thought you might like to check out what they say about bullying here.    Sending lots of support to you and your daughter right now!  ... View more

Hi there @starlin thank you for posting about this because I suspect many parents are going through similar struggles. In the best of times it can be a challenge to keep teens motivated to do their school work, so put a pandemic on top of that and it's even harder.    Remote learning isn't for everyone but as you said routine can help. We actually have an article on helping your teen stick to a routine here, if you want to give that a read.  Do you mind if I ask what the routine you have now looks like? I know that some parents have tried incorporating exercise into the day to break things up and get away from the screen. I'm sure there are lots of different strategies to try and would be interested to see what other parents here say.  ... View more

Hi @Magnum50    Thank you for opening up to us about this, I can only imagine how devastating this situation would be for you. Not only to be away from your children but also to have heard those hurtful words from your 24 year old, you would have been beside yourself. You mentioned that you attempted suicide when this happened and I just wanted to take the time to ask if you've been getting support after this happened?    One thing that sounds hopeful is that you are working with your husband to take steps to get your children back into your care. All the concerns you've raised around this experience for your youngest children are very valid and it's good that you are thinking about that now. It seems like the whole family could do with some support, would you be open to talking to a family support service to see what they can do to help you heal as a family?    Please know that we are hear to support you through this as well  ... View more

I'm so sorry to hear you're going through that on top of this situation with your son. Do you have anyone in your life that supports you with this? I can imagine how hard it would be to process how things are with your son, on top of being immobile. We are here for you when you need to vent @HurtingnSoCal  ... View more

Aww @HurtingnSoCal reading through your thread, I am really feeling for you and can imagine how hurt you must feel. You mentioned that you've had health complications with your feet, how is that going? Have you been able to connect with friends or family and get some support with how this would be making you feel?  ... View more

Hi there @Younique thanks for reaching out to our parent community to start a discussion! We just wanted to comment to welcome you and also to let you know about our guidelines, which you can read through here.    Something that is really important to us at ReachOut is fostering a safe online community with a focus on strengths. It would be great if we can reframe your question, moving away from what parents are doing wrong and rather around what parent's feel they are doing really well and what they'd like to improve.    What do you think about that?  ... View more

Hi there @Hopesprings123, thank you for coming here and entrusting us with your story. I can imagine how painful this would be for you and your daughter. As a survivor of school bullying, I remember these times and I can feel the turmoil - I want to assure you that what I also remember from these times is how supportive my mum was and how that absolutely saved me and made a difference for me. You are doing the most important thing for your daughter and that is being a great parent.    School can be so tough and there are answers out there, which ones will be right for your family will depend on your unique circumstances - but we are happy to chat through this with you. I am glad to hear your daughter has a psychologist, I was just wondering if you have any support for yourself in this situation? You mentioned wanting to walk into the ocean, so I am a little worried about your well-being as I know these situations absolutely take their toll on a person.    Are you okay right now? And do you have any supports that you can call upon today? We will be looking out for your response   ... View more

Hey @Dad42 hope you are going okay - just reminding you that we are here to chat about this more with you.  ... View more

Hey @Newdad  thank you for coming here to get some support with this. I can imagine there are lots of emotions and thoughts you're having at the moment. I did want to let you know that we may not be the best space to chat about this as our scope is teenagers - however there is an amazing site that has a lot of self-help articles for new families. Here is a link to Raising Childrens Network. All their content is broken down into different stages from pregnancy to new born and beyond. They would also have some stuff on blended families! Let us know how you go with the website.  ... View more

Aw @hrmsj1447 it sounds like you have a lot on your plate and I can understand why you'd be reaching out to lots of different platforms to get support. Feel free to post here about anything to do with your teen. Did you get a chance to check out the Raising Childrens Network link? Apparently they are quite helpful with the toddler stage. Also, do you have any other support networks around you?  ... View more

Your views on editing of the posts are fair and we are open to hearing about how this would be weird for you.    As we are a mental health space, ensuring the safety of all young people is our number one priority. It sounds like you have had experience with de-trans and that was what was best for your child and family. However, as there are families from all walks of life, with differing needs/circumstances, we have created the guideline that we steer clear from giving specific medical advice.    In the same way we wouldn’t condone promoting medical advice to transition, we also can’t promote de-transitioning. These conversations are best left between families and their GP's, as it is not our scope.    Just letting you know, I did need to remove the link due to our guideline around sharing social media sites. ... View more

Aw @Anxietyprincess reading through this I felt like first and foremost it was important to acknowledge you. You have really done so much, gone above and beyond to be there for your daughter. The fierce love you have for her is clear. I can also hear how much pain your daughter is in and that would be incredibly hard for you both to go through.    I'm just wondering if you have any friends/family members that are helping you through this hard time? Maybe even a counselor for yourself, to chat through some of the questions you have around how to support your daughter.  ... View more

Hi there @jamman we work with young people up to the age of 25 years, so this is most definitely a place you can talk about your young persons mental health.  ... View more

Heya @Jozansag thanks for coming here to give support. Just letting you know we had to edit some of your post as there were parts that weren't in line with our guidelines. Which you can read in detail here.  ... View more

Hey @madame-connect it's great to have you here - it sounds like you'll be bring a lot of value being a mum as well as a teacher. What's your favorite thing about teaching?    Also, just had to let you know that I had to remove some of your post as this is an anonymous forum. We have some guidelines around how to post that might be good to look at here, when you have the time.  ... View more

Hey @Curious thank you for posting about this, sounds like the kind of situation that is a lot easier with support from others!    Self exploration is completely normal at any age but it is something that children will most likely have questions about/and will need guidance with. Young people should definitely feel safe and comfortable to explore personal pleasure.    It's a tricky topic to tackle with your child so I've found some resources that might helpful for you, if you would like to open a dialogue about masturbation/sexual health. As ReachOut is a service for young people between the ages of 12-25, I think Raising Children's Network will have much better information for you about this.    This article on childhood sexual behaviour goes into what is healthy behaviour and how to respond. Let us know how you go with that article and if you have any further questions at all. We're here to help!  ... View more