The Mental Health Checklist I Wish I Had When Maddie Was 14
They spend more time alone. They stop talking as much. They're on their phone more. Something feels different and you can't put your finger on it. Six things a parent can do when they've noticed a change in their teenager and don't know whether it means anything, including what to ask instead of how was your day, when to bring in someone who isn't you, and what changed in one house afterwards.
I Wrote About Depression When Maddie Was 12. I Never Asked If She Was Okay.
In October 2012 I published my first post about depression. I'd been seeing a psychiatrist for four years and took a careful inventory of my own life every few weeks. My daughter Maddie was twelve. She appears in that post once, as evidence I was doing fine. Knowing about depression and seeing it in the person across the table are two different abilities, and I confused them.
Love Isn't Always Enough. That Truth Nearly Broke Me
Love is why parents show up. But love alone does not teach you how to recognize when your child is struggling. Chris Coulter writes from eleven years of hindsight about the gap between loving deeply and seeing clearly, and why awareness is a skill every parent can learn.
How to Navigate a Teen Mental Health Crisis Together
Worried your teenager is struggling with mental health? Learn the warning signs, the 5Rs framework, and practical ways to support your teen before a crisis escalates.
The Feeling I Wish I Had Trusted Before I Lost My Daughter
48% of parents who took the Teen Signal Check discovered their teen needed more attention than they realised. 52% Green. 30% Yellow. 18% Red. Three minutes. 14 questions. Built by a father who missed the signs and spent everything he had since making sure other parents don't. Free at thementorwell.com.
The Signs Were There. I Just Didn't Know What I Was Looking At.
The early signs of teen struggle rarely look dramatic. Irritability. Withdrawal. Sleep changes. Loss of interest in things they used to love. Most parents see these patterns and assume it's a phase. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it's the beginning of something that needed attention weeks ago. This post helps parents notice the difference — calmly, and before the window closes.