Being a parent and finding out that your child has been intentionally harming themselves without any intent to kill themselves can be bring up a range of emotions; it can be upsetting, difficult, and maybe even confusing. It is something that no parent ever wants to learn about their child. This can bring up many questions for a parent related to how to proceed or why this is happening. The following will help best answer these questions.
If you have teenagers or have older children who were at some time a teenager, you may be able to understand how different it can be to interact with someone from the ages of 13-19 than it is to interact with someone younger or older. It has been well documented those adolescent years have unique and often challenging experiences for both the teen as well as those close to them in their lives. It is in these years that many parent-teen relationships suffer with both parties feeling as if the other is so disconnected. This is a common issue that many families struggle with, and it is also indicative of a time in all our adolescent journeys that we may use to relate to one another.
