Children's Mental Health

My 15-year-old son recently told me he wants to be referred to as they/them. He has started experimenting with makeup and is interested in women's clothing. I'm having a really hard time with this one. I am uncomfortable, I don't understand and don't know how to handle it. I want to support him, but I worry about him being bullied and what struggles he will face. Where do I even begin?

Our President and CEO Dr. Michelle K. Murray joined KSTP's Minnesota Live to talk about how families can keep it simple in the new year by setting small, specific, and intentional goals.

To many, adolescent and teen boys are a mystery. They are trying to find their place in the pecking order of the world. They are defining manhood, “trying out” the different types of men they’ve seen in society, and how they want to be defined. So how do you communicate with adolescent boys? Take them for a drive.

We are looking at options to help our 15-year-old son who has many continuous problems. He is stealing, lying, and cheating. He had violent outbursts when he’s confronted. He self-harms, has inappropriate sexual behaviors, fights, lack of empathy and more. What is our best solution for these behaviors?

Nexus-FACTS Family Healing Clinical Director Luke Spiegelhoff joined KSTP's Minnesota Live to talk about how social media affects our teens and their mental health.

Our 31-day calendar shares ideas on how you can spread kindness each and every day.

Personal hygiene is a subject that is often not discussed on a daily basis. Typically, hygiene is overlooked as we often assume that everyone does things in similar ways or have similar levels of frequency. However, hygiene can often be the first sign of the start of mental health issues.

My eight-year-old child has had a rocky start to the school year. She struggles with social anxiety and it seems to be getting worse. She just lacks confidence, is concerned that others will make fun of her and I can tell she dreads going into school in the morning.

There are direct and indirect warning signs when it comes to suicide.

Don’t be afraid to ask: It is a common misconception that asking about suicidal feelings will in some way “plant the idea” in a child’s mind and cause them to attempt suicide. In fact, the opposite is true.