Even parents whose children don’t have mental health conditions sometimes struggle to let go as their child approaches adulthood. If you have a child with a mental health diagnosis, the idea of their transition to adulthood may be even more terrifying and uncertain. At Carolina Dunes Behavioral Health, in Leland, North Carolina, we know it’s difficult. We provide inpatient mental health treatment for adolescents struggling with mental, behavioral, or psychiatric issues and support for their families.
Recognizing Warning Signs in Kids
The first step in supporting a young person who is struggling with their mental health is to identify the need for help. Many people who experience mental illnesses first show symptoms in late childhood or early adolescence, but their symptoms are dismissed as being a typical moody tween or teenager. Caregivers who notice that something feels off can help their child get treatment more quickly and facilitate a faster recovery by reaching out to their pediatrician, school counselor, or a mental health professional for support.
Early Empowerment
If a child does receive a mental health diagnosis, parents can help them to begin preparing for adulthood by empowering them to be independent at a developmentally appropriate level. While a child isn’t able to be fully in control of their mental health treatment, it is important for parents and providers to make children and teens a part of their own care:
- Read up on your child’s specific diagnosis and learn ways that you can modify your parenting to be more supportive of their mental health needs.
- Make time for your child, even when, and especially when things are busy and stressful.
- Help your child learn their own signs of stress, such as irritability and anger, behavioral changes, sleep disturbances, not following through with responsibilities, appetite changes, and physical illness.
- Model balance, healthy boundaries, effective stress management, conflict-resolution, and self-care for your child by prioritizing your own sleep, exercise, recreation, and mental health, and discussing the importance of these choices with your child.
- Practice moderation with screen time and help your child to do the same. Teach them critical thinking skills, so that they are able to differentiate between credible and not credible information they may see online.
- Ask your child about their feelings and validate their emotions, even if you don’t understand or see the situation in the same way.
- Let your child solve problems and make decisions for themselves as they are developmentally able to do so. Now is the perfect time for them to practice their skills, when they are under your roof, with you available as a safety net.
- Invite your child to share their input about the treatment they receive with you and their providers.
- Teach your child about their medications and explain when and why they need to take them and how the medication will help them. Also, discuss any allergies they have to medications and what reactions they have to them.
- As your child gets older and more familiar with their meds, consider allowing them to set up their medications, with you readily available to answer questions and ensure proper dosages.
- Allow your child to practice scheduling appointments, getting their medications refilled, and asking questions of their providers and the pharmacist, so that this process is more familiar and less scary in adulthood.
Helping Teens Build Resilience
Resilience is the ability to bounce back from difficult experiences. Some people are naturally more resilient, but it is something that can be learned. Children and teens can begin to build their resilience by:
- Making friends and practicing their social skills
- Helping other people
- Sticking to a routine, which can be comforting and streamline processes they need to complete
- Taking regular breaks to rest and have fun
- Limiting time spent consuming news
- Setting and achieving goals
- Recognizing the positive things they have going for them
- Learning to accept and roll with change
Giving Teens Additional Resources
Teenagers are sometimes resistant to asking adults questions. This can make them more susceptible to misinformation from online sources or their peers. One way to prevent this issue is to ensure that they know how to access credible sources of information when they need it. Some resources that could be helpful for teens with mental health diagnoses include:
- Teen Line
- The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
- The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Website
- A College Readiness Guide for Teens with ADHD/LD
- How to Feel Good: 20 Things Teens Can Do
- A Perfectionist’s Guide to Not Being Perfect
- Depression: A Teen’s Guide to Survive and Thrive
At Carolina Dunes Behavioral Health, we work with our patients and their families to navigate the challenges of mental illness and recovery. Our team provides trauma-informed, evidence-based care that is tailored to meet the unique needs of each client.
