Have you noticed your child struggling more than usual?  Are they struggling emotionally, socially, at school, with friends, at home?  You as a parent are an expert when it comes to your children.  You may not feel like it, but you are.  You know when something just isn’t right with your child.  When you notice that, what do you do?  Do you talk to them?  Ignore it and hope it goes away?  Blame yourself?  Seek help?  It’s hard and scary when your children are struggling.  No parent wants to see that.

It’s hard to know what to do when your child is struggling.  It’s especially hard when your child won’t talk to you to tell you what is wrong.  That’s okay.  Sometimes your children won’t tell you what’s wrong because they themselves don’t know what is wrong.  They might not be able to put it into words.  The most important thing you can do for your children is, be there.  Just be there for them.  Show them that you love them and care about them.  When they are ready to talk, you will be there waiting for them.  When your child does come and talk to you, listen.  LISTEN!  Just listening can be very impactful for your children.  Parents usually have an answer for everything or there is always something that could be said.  Before you say anything, think about it.  Hold judgment.  Your child needs to know that you are a safe place to come and share their thoughts and concerns.  You would be surprised how effective listening can be.

When children struggle it is very common for parents to blame themselves.  They ask themselves, “What did I do wrong?”  They say, “I am such a terrible parent.”  Chances are, the issues are not about you.  If it is, you can’t go back in, you can just moveforward.  It is never to late to more forward.  A parent’s blame on himself or herself is a large reason as to why they don’t bring their child in for counseling.  They feel guilty or like a failure.  When you come to counseling we are not thinking about how bad of a parent you are.  That is the last thing on our mind.  We are admiring you for trying to help your child.  You recognized that your child is struggling and you want to help them.  There is nothing wrong with that.  We would never blame you.  We want to work with you to help your child.  Parents think that when they bring their child in for counseling the therapist is going to be judging their parenting skills.  That is not true.  No judgment will be happening here.  If anything we can help you gain new parenting skills that might help at home.  Nobody is perfect and we don’t expect you to be.

Children are complex.  Lets work together to help them grow and succeed in the best way that they can.  When you come to New Hope you will not be criticized.  We will help your child and family to the best of our ability.