Helping Our Kids Through Their Mental Health Challenges + FREE Download

When my oldest was in middle school, it was a battle to get her to go to school. When I asked if she had homework, she would say she didn’t have any, only later to find out that she was missing assignments and risking flunking the class. We moved her from her private middle school to public school, hoping they would provide her with more support and resources and that would make a difference. It did a little. Making friends at a new school was tough. It was painful to watch her struggle.

Some of you are in the thick of it right now. School refusal. Anxiety. Depression. Friendship struggles. Loneliness. Feelings of hurt and rejection. Defiance and anger.

Watching our kids struggle can be the hardest part of parenting. There is no one word to begin to describe how a mom can feel when their kid is struggling with their mental health. The pain, powerlessness, and fear can be overwhelming.

I desperately wanted to fix things and make them better for my daughter. Out of my feelings of powerlessness, I tried to control her. We would argue and fight, and everything I tried to do backfired on me and didn’t help her at all. My motives were love, care, and concern, but at the time, she didn’t see things that way (she shares her experience HERE).

If I’d only known what I know now, I would have handled many things differently.

And yet, here I am today, typing this to you with gratitude that God can use my mistakes and what I have learned to hopefully support you in some way with whatever you’re going through with your struggling kids. Whether it be providing encouragement, reassurance that you’re not alone, or offering you a safe, supportive community, a listening, empathetic ear, hope, and a path forward, workshops, or resources, Moms of Tweens and Teens is here to support you wherever you are at. There’s nothing I want more than to help you get through this really hard season of parenting.

When it comes to our kid’s anxiety and mental and emotional health, they are fighting a battle.

And here’s the truth…

We can’t fix things for our kids as much as we desperately want to. We can’t “make” them do their homework, get out of bed to go to school, or change their defiant behaviors or emotional outbursts.

However, there are things that we CAN DO that will make all the difference in providing them with what they truly need from us. We can learn the tools to HELP our kids move forward in the right direction and offer them the guidance and support they desperately need.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and I want to devote the next two weeks of my newsletters to providing resources, a few valuable articles, and podcasts that offer advice and insights into our kids’ mental and emotional health.

Below is my FREE Download of Supportive Resources if you need more support, a few of our top posts, and my podcast from this week, which I believe will provide you with a lot of important and useful information.

Adolescence can be a challenging time, marked by numerous stressors and emotional changes. It’s crucial for parents and caregivers to recognize the signs of depression and suicidal thoughts in our tweens and teens and to know where to turn for resources and support.

On the Moms of Tweens and Teens Podcast this week,

I interviewed AnneMoss Rogers about her own personal story and her incredible insights and advice on all the critical components of developing suicide awareness and interventions for our kids.

Every parent needs to listen to this or read the transcript: Could My Kid Be Suicidal? What to Do and Say. A Personal Story with AnneMoss Rogers

​Maybe you’ve asked yourself, “Should I be worried, or is their behavior just teen moodiness? It is easy to pass these things off on hormones and say it is just a phase. But how can we know there isn’t something more serious going on in our teen’s life?

What do you do if your tween or teen won’t talk to you and you don’t know if they are okay? How do you get them to open up?

Remember, helping our kids through mental health challenges requires patience, empathy, and understanding. Let’s use this month to deepen our awareness and commitment to nurturing our kids’ emotional well-being.

And if no one has told you today, you are doing an amazing job by showing up every single day to love, support, and nurture your kids.

Tons of love and rooting for us on this journey together!

XO, Sheryl