Raising a teen is a tricky business. But you don’t have to do it alone. Seeing your child struggling can be upsetting, even scary. But there are lots of organisations and services to help parents of teenagers, as well as teens themselves.
Talk to their school or your GP
Speak to their school if you have concerns or are looking for support. Your teen’s school will be happy to help. If you have worries about their health and wellbeing, it’s important to let the school know as early as possible. This lets them work with you to put any support they can offer in place.
Your GP will also be able to help you and your teen think about support that might be helpful.
Further support for teens
- The Breathing Space helpline is available to help teenagers who may be experiencing low moods and depression.
- More information about mental health problems and disorders can be found on NHS Inform.
- Teens can also phone Childline for free confidential advice and support.
- YoungMinds provides free, 24/7 text support for young people across the UK experiencing a mental health crisis.
- YoungScot's Aye Feel hub has lots of information for young people on how to look after their emotional wellbeing, including ideas from other teens, as well as support from organisations around Scotland and tips on how to promote a positive mindset.
- SAMH (have some useful resources to help young people with how they're feeling.
Support for parents of teens
- Parentline Scotland provides free advice and support on all aspects of parenting.
- The Relationship Helpline provides a free service for anyone over 16 who has relationship issues or needs to talk about family life.
- The Solihull Approach Online courses cover a range of topics and ages from pregnancy to 19+ years. There are also courses for teenagers themselves, and one about adult relationships. These courses are for everyone, for everyday parenting. They don’t tell you how to parent, that’s up to you. Instead they offer a way to understand what might be going on and space to think about how you want to respond. You can find out more at www.inourplace.co.uk and access the courses for free using the code TARTAN.
- MindEd has advice and information to help you to understand your teen’s mental health, what you can do to best support your family, and how to take care of yourself.
- HappyMaps has mental health resources for parents and carers, and for young people and children, all in one place.
- The Anna Freud Centre also offers resources to help parents support their teen’s mental health.
Looking after yourself
Being the parent of a teenager can be hard work! To be there for them, you need to be in a good place yourself. We have some tips on looking after your mental health and ways to help you cope and relax. It’s not selfish to look after yourself. And the happier you are the better support you can be for your teen.