As your child grows older and becomes a teenager, it can be more challenging to find out if they are struggling, especially if they are spending more and more time outside of the home. To make sure that you can help your teen when they are experiencing a mental or physical health challenge, here are some steps that you should consider taking. 

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Open a Discussion 

The most important action that you can take is to open a two-way conversation with them where you can discuss your concerns and encourage them to tell you about the issue that is troubling them. Although opening a discussion can be difficult, you should try to choose a moment when they are relaxed and in the right mood, stay calm and collected throughout the conversation, and avoid negative phrases or accusations, which may deter them from speaking to you. Even if they are not ready to open up, you should make sure that they know that you are ready to listen to their worries. 

Encourage Them to Seek Help

Once you have held a discussion with them, you should encourage them to seek the help they need, rather than taking this into your own hands. You should also talk through the different treatment options with them at home. For instance, if they need residential treatment, edentreatment.com offers a range of healthcare services for conditions that are common in teens, including binge eating treatment. If they are worried about making the appointment themselves, you should offer to help them to book a consultation with their GP and to go with them to this, if they want you to. 

Ask for Advice

Depending on your child’s condition and your concerns, you should consider asking for advice from an exterior source. For instance, you can discuss your child’s situation with a trained expert who will be able to answer any queries that you have. This can put your mind at rest by allowing you to check that you are doing the right thing. 

Research 

When your child has been diagnosed with a condition, you should try to understand their symptoms and the causes of them by conducting as much research as possible. Although you cannot trust everything that you read on the internet, by looking at information from acclaimed medical journals and health services, you will be in a better position to support your teen and to help them throughout their journey to recovery. 

Get Support for Yourself

However, just because you are putting your energy into your teen, this does not mean that you should neglect to look after yourself. Coping with a teen’s mental or physical health issues can be difficult and demaning on your time and energy. It can even lead to instances of depression and anxiety in parents if not managed correctly. Therefore, if you are struggling, you should make sure that you actively seek the help that you need, such as counseling.