Every child and every family is different, but many of the issues parents struggle with as kids develop are widely shared. In this section you'll see questions other parents have sent us, and answers from our clinicians. You may find here other families wrestling with the same challenges you’re experiencing, and we hope the information, insights and advice our experts offer will be helpful to you as well.
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Q: Should parents force kids with depression to do things they don’t want to do?
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All Topics
- All Topics
- Abuse
- ADHD
- Anxiety
- Anxiety Disorders
- Attention
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Behavior and Conduct Disorders
- Behavior Problems
- Bullying
- College
- Confidence and Self-Esteem
- Depression
- Depressive and Mood Disorders
- Diagnosis
- Discipline
- Divorce
- Drugs and Alcohol
- Elimination Disorders
- Executive Function
- Friends and Socializing
- Learning
- Learning and Development Disorders
- Media and Tech
- Medication
- Military Families
- Non-Verbal Learning Disorder
- OCD: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders
- Parenting Challenges
- Parenting Styles
- Preteens and Tweens
- School
- Selective Mutism
- Sensory Processing
- Sex and Gender
- Sexuality
- Sleep
- Sleep-Wake Disorders
- Sports
- Stress and Resilience
- Substance Use and Addictive Disorders
- Suicide and Self-Harm
- Teenagers
- Toddlers
- Tourette's and Tic Disorders
- Trauma and Grief
- Trauma and Stress Related Disorders
- Treatment
Abuse
- I have custody of two children, recently in foster care, who engage in sexual behavior. What can I do?
- My son may have been abused, and is now oppositional. Could it be ODD?
ADHD
- Are there any colleges with good services for kids with ADHD?
- My daughter with ADHD can’t keep friends. What can we do?
- After a year of therapies, my son with autism and ADHD hasn’t made much progress. Will this ever get better? What must we do?
- My 14-year-old daughter hasn’t had success with stimulants. Should she try Abilify?
- My son has a very mild case of ADHD combined. Would coffee help him?
- My son, who struggles with anxiety and ADHD, has poor self-esteem and trouble fitting in socially. I’ve seen kids being very mean to him.
- My son has made great progress in day treatment and is ready to return to a regular school. How can we get the school to work with him if he still has occasional outbursts?
- What is the difference between ADD and ADHD?
- My son, who has ADHD, is defiant and emotionally over-reactive. Parenting him is like riding a roller coaster. What type of therapies could help?
- My teen has ADHD and ODD. He refuses therapy. How can I help my son help himself?
Anxiety
- My daughter is nervous about starting middle school this year. Do you have any tips for calming her anxiety?
- My 10-year-old son has become more sensitive over the last two years and now cries over almost anything. What can I do?
- A kindergarten student with SM refuses to use the bathroom at school. Do you have any suggestions?
- My 10-year-old daughter with anxiety won’t participate in gym. Should we push her?
- My 16-year-old son vomits before every basketball game. Could this be generalized anxiety disorder?
- Should my son with Tourette’s syndrome get exposure therapy for his school anxiety?
- Since a classmate’s family was killed in a plane crash, our daughter is terribly anxious that something bad will happen to us. How can we help her?
- Our 6-year-old is too anxious to participate in school activities. What should we do?
- My husband and I are beginning to worry about our 3-year-old daughter’s preoccupation with death. How can we answer her questions?
- My kids’ fears are keeping them from doing things they need to do. And I’m so tired of fighting it I’m giving in. What can I do?
Anxiety Disorders
- Can a fear of vomiting actually cause someone to vomit?
- My daughter with anxiety issues is worried about getting her period. What can I do?
- My daughter’s school would like her to repeat second grade. When is it good to keep a child back, if ever?
- A kindergarten student with SM refuses to use the bathroom at school. Do you have any suggestions?
- My 10-year-old daughter with anxiety won’t participate in gym. Should we push her?
- My 16-year-old son vomits before every basketball game. Could this be generalized anxiety disorder?
- My son, who has been taking Prozac for selective mutism, is now completely verbal in school. When can we start taking him off it?
- My son, who struggles with anxiety and ADHD, has poor self-esteem and trouble fitting in socially. I’ve seen kids being very mean to him.
- My son has made great progress in day treatment and is ready to return to a regular school. How can we get the school to work with him if he still has occasional outbursts?
- What is the best high school school environment for a student with generalized anxiety disorder and social anxiety?
Attention
- Are there any colleges with good services for kids with ADHD?
- My 14-year-old daughter hasn’t had success with stimulants. Should she try Abilify?
- My son has a very mild case of ADHD combined. Would coffee help him?
- What is the difference between ADD and ADHD?
Autism Spectrum Disorder
- My 4-year-old sneaks out of the house, despite locks and alarms. What can I do?
- Relatives don’t believe my daughter’s diagnosis because she doesn’t always ‘act autistic.’ What can I do?
- After a year of therapies, my son with autism and ADHD hasn’t made much progress. Will this ever get better? What must we do?
- Can my child have both autism and selective mutism, and be treated for both?
- How do you tell the difference between Asperger’s and selective mutism?
- Our 11-year-old has high-functioning autism and can’t keep his hands to himself. He touches family, friends and strangers. We’re desperate for help.
- My son is 3 and autistic. What should I be doing for him?
- My granddaughter has autism, is extremely hyperactive and sleeps erratically. Her medications keep changing. What can I do?
- My son has made great progress in day treatment and is ready to return to a regular school. How can we get the school to work with him if he still has occasional outbursts?
Behavior and Conduct Disorders
- My 4-year-old with a behavior disorder attends therapy but she can’t compose sentences or express feelings. Am I doing enough for her?
- My granddaughter, 16, is terrible to her mother, but is great with us. What can we do?
- My daughter only acts out with my ex. Could it be oppositional defiant disorder?
- My son may have been abused, and is now oppositional. Could it be ODD?
- When should you get a neuropsych evaluation for a child starting school in the fall?
Behavior Problems
- My 5-year-old doesn’t listen to me and is disrespectful. Time-outs don’t work. What should I do?
- What are appropriate consequences for bad behavior?
- My son is having emotional and behavioral issues after I went back to work and our family pet died. What do you suggest?
- My son is 2 years old and has such severe outbursts and tantrums that it scares us. What do we do?
- My son gets angry easily and is anxious about it. Will a safe, over-the-counter remedy or a gluten-free diet help?
- I have a 9-year-old son who won’t listen to his mother. What can we do?
- My granddaughter, 16, is terrible to her mother, but is great with us. What can we do?
- My daughter only acts out with my ex. Could it be oppositional defiant disorder?
- My 14-year-old daughter hasn’t had success with stimulants. Should she try Abilify?
- My 9-year-old won’t listen to me, and I don’t have much patience with her anymore. Any suggestions?
College
- Are there any colleges with good services for kids with ADHD?
- I think my daughter, a college student, is depressed, but she says she’s fine. What do you recommend?
Depression
- I think my daughter, a college student, is depressed, but she says she’s fine. What do you recommend?
- My 10-year-old son has become more sensitive over the last two years and now cries over almost anything. What can I do?
- Should parents force kids with depression to do things they don’t want to do?
- Our daughter doesn’t accept her diagnoses of anxiety and depression, and we aren’t thrilled with the psychologist. Any suggestions?
- I’m 16 and I’m feeling like there is something wrong with me. I may be depressed but I’m not sure.
- How do you get a child who is living independently to get the help she needs?
- A child whose mother is hospitalized cries daily, disrupting the class. Should we pity her or demand that she perform?
- My daughter has been treated for depression, but it doesn’t seem to be working. What can we do?
- My child with depression is close friends with another girl who is depressed. Is this friendship unhealthy?
- My 8-year-old son always feels unwell and is very emotional. I am depressed, and our interactions are difficult. Please help.
Depressive and Mood Disorders
- Should parents force kids with depression to do things they don’t want to do?
- My son has made great progress in day treatment and is ready to return to a regular school. How can we get the school to work with him if he still has occasional outbursts?
- I’m 16 and I’m feeling like there is something wrong with me. I may be depressed but I’m not sure.
Diagnosis
- My 10-year-old son has become more sensitive over the last two years and now cries over almost anything. What can I do?
- My son gets angry easily and is anxious about it. Will a safe, over-the-counter remedy or a gluten-free diet help?
- Our daughter doesn’t accept her diagnoses of anxiety and depression, and we aren’t thrilled with the psychologist. Any suggestions?
- People think my son is rude because he has tantrums when we’re out, but at home he is the most loving boy in the world. Is anything wrong with him?
- When should you get a neuropsych evaluation for a child starting school in the fall?
- My 4-year-old has strange fears. Should she see a psychiatrist?
- My 2-year-old daughter has a lot of fears and they are getting worse. Should I be worried?
- My daughter, who has ADHD, gets sad and depressed when she takes stimulant medications. Does it make sense to add an antidepressant?
- My daughter says “you can’t control my thoughts” when I try to comfort her. What can I do?
- My aggressive 6-year-old, who has had many diagnoses, reacted badly to stimulants and an SSRI. What else can we try?
Discipline
- What are appropriate consequences for bad behavior?
- When should I hold a child accountable for his IED behavior and when should I give him a “pass”?
Divorce
- When should we tell our kids that we’re getting a divorce?
- What happens to kids when divorced parents have different rules?
Drugs and Alcohol
- How can I protect my son with ADHD from substance abuse?
- What should I do if my child has a drinking problem?
- Is my teenager a substance abuser?
Elimination Disorders
- A kindergarten student with SM refuses to use the bathroom at school. Do you have any suggestions?
- My 10-year-old is either pooping his pants or not cleaning properly, leading to messy underwear almost daily. What should I do?
- My 7-year-old daughter keeps wetting her pants at school. What should we do?
Learning
- Should I teach my child a second language or will it delay her language development?
- What can I do for my 4-year-old son who still doesn’t hold his pencil correctly?
- When should you get a neuropsych evaluation for a child starting school in the fall?
- My 5-year-old son, who has a development delay, is very independent but does not want to do his homework. What can I do?
- Our 2-year-old grandson doesn’t speak yet. Is using sign language a good idea?
- My son needs extra time on the SAT. Does anyone test high schoolers?
- I’m working with a student who doesn’t want to read out loud and is unresponsive in class. Please help!
- A 10-year-old boy has severe memory issues. What do you recommend his parents do? His public school?
Learning and Development Disorders
- My daughter’s school would like her to repeat second grade. When is it good to keep a child back, if ever?
- My 7-year-old son with dyslexia is easily frustrated or angered by things outside of school. Is that common?
- Teacher and parents say a first-grader isn’t retaining information from day to day. What assessment would you suggest?
- When should you get a neuropsych evaluation for a child starting school in the fall?
- My 14-month-old granddaughter has no words yet and is very, very active. Is delayed speech a sign of ADHD?
- How can I increase the positive interactions I have with my child who has ADHD and dyslexia?
- My daughter is so frustrated by her learning disorder she’s having tantrums at school. What can we do?
- A 10-year-old boy has severe memory issues. What do you recommend his parents do? His public school?
Media and Tech
MoreMedication
- My son gets angry easily and is anxious about it. Will a safe, over-the-counter remedy or a gluten-free diet help?
- My granddaughter has autism, is extremely hyperactive and sleeps erratically. Her medications keep changing. What can I do?
- My 14-year-old daughter hasn’t had success with stimulants. Should she try Abilify?
- My son has a very mild case of ADHD combined. Would coffee help him?
- My son, who has been taking Prozac for selective mutism, is now completely verbal in school. When can we start taking him off it?
- Can Adderall and other drugs used to treat ADHD cause depression?
- Our granddaughter is severely anxious, but an antidepressant had too many side effects. Should we try a natural medication?
- Our 7-year-old, who is tapering off Prozac, is upset and irritable. Is that a symptom of withdrawal?
- Stimulant medications helped my son with ADHD, but he developed tics. Is there something else we can try?
- Why do some kids fail to respond, or respond unpredictably, to psychotropic medication?
Military Families
- My 4-year-old sneaks out of the house, despite locks and alarms. What can I do?
- My son may have been abused, and is now oppositional. Could it be ODD?
Non-Verbal Learning Disorder
MoreOCD: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders
- I’m afraid my 15-year-old daughter is a hoarder because she hides food around her room. What do you think?
- My daughter with ADHD can’t keep friends. What can we do?
- My son, who struggles with anxiety and ADHD, has poor self-esteem and trouble fitting in socially. I’ve seen kids being very mean to him.
- My 9-year-old son is constantly confessing thoughts, or things he has done, that he thinks are bad. How can we help him?
- My teen has ADHD and ODD. He refuses therapy. How can I help my son help himself?
- My 15-year-old daughter has been treated for OCD but still has a lot of symptoms. Would in-home sessions help her?
- My 11-year-old son is constantly plagued by sexual thoughts he can’t control. How do we help this boy?
- Is my 15-year-old daughter a hoarder?
- If a boy of 6 years old doesn’t want to touch the floor when he walks, could it be OCD?
- My daughter worries constantly about thoughts, and things she has done, that she thinks are “bad.” What can I do to help?
Parenting Challenges
- My granddaughter, 16, is terrible to her mother, but is great with us. What can we do?
- My 4-year-old sneaks out of the house, despite locks and alarms. What can I do?
- My daughter treats her dad as a rival for my attention and is mean to him when he comes home. Is animosity towards the less-favored parent normal?
- My son cries every day at kindergarten because he misses me, and isn’t making friends. What can I do?
- My son had an allergic reaction to peanuts and now he will only eat a few foods. What can I do to get him to eat?
- When should we tell our kids that we’re getting a divorce?
- My 7-year-old seems to only hear what he wants to hear. How do I make myself clear?
- My 6-year-old son gets anger attacks and his mind and reasoning completely shut down. During a recent one I didn’t know if he was trying to hurt himself or me. What can I do?
- My 5-year-old son, who has a development delay, is very independent but does not want to do his homework. What can I do?
- My 15-year-old needs therapy, but refuses. How can I get him the help he needs?
Parenting Styles
- What happens to kids when divorced parents have different rules?
- Does it matter HOW I praise my child?
Preteens and Tweens
- I found porn on my 11-year-old’s phone. Should I talk to him?
- My 12-year-old daughter acts much older than she is. How do I rein her in?
School
- My daughter is nervous about starting middle school this year. Do you have any tips for calming her anxiety?
- My daughter’s school would like her to repeat second grade. When is it good to keep a child back, if ever?
- A kindergarten student with SM refuses to use the bathroom at school. Do you have any suggestions?
- My 10-year-old daughter with anxiety won’t participate in gym. Should we push her?
- My son, who has been taking Prozac for selective mutism, is now completely verbal in school. When can we start taking him off it?
- My son has made great progress in day treatment and is ready to return to a regular school. How can we get the school to work with him if he still has occasional outbursts?
- Should my son with Tourette’s syndrome get exposure therapy for his school anxiety?
- Our 6-year-old is too anxious to participate in school activities. What should we do?
- What is the best high school school environment for a student with generalized anxiety disorder and social anxiety?
- Should my daughter who might have selective mutism switch classes?
Selective Mutism
- Can my child have both autism and selective mutism, and be treated for both?
- How do you tell the difference between Asperger’s and selective mutism?
- My daughter’s school would like her to repeat second grade. When is it good to keep a child back, if ever?
- A kindergarten student with SM refuses to use the bathroom at school. Do you have any suggestions?
- My 10-year-old daughter with anxiety won’t participate in gym. Should we push her?
- My son, who has been taking Prozac for selective mutism, is now completely verbal in school. When can we start taking him off it?
- Should my daughter who might have selective mutism switch classes?
- How can you help a 16-year-old who still has selective mutism?
- My niece refuses to speak around adults, but with kids she’s the leader of the group. Could she have SM?
- My son with SM is now refusing to talk to his sister. What should we do?
Sensory Processing
- My 10-year-old daughter with anxiety won’t participate in gym. Should we push her?
- My 6-year-old son has seen two occupational therapists, and both wanted to stop treatment at six months. What’s going on?
- My 3-year-old hugs too hard and doesn’t like loud noises. What could be causing this?
Sex and Gender
MoreSexuality
- I found porn on my 11-year-old’s phone. Should I talk to him?
- My 11-year-old son is constantly plagued by sexual thoughts he can’t control. How do we help this boy?
- I saw by accident that my 15-year-old daughter has been talking about sex with a guy on Facebook. What should I do?
- My 11-year-old son has started having crushes on teachers and moms of friends. He has an obsessive personality and finds this all very embarrassing. What can I do?
Sleep
- My granddaughter has autism, is extremely hyperactive and sleeps erratically. Her medications keep changing. What can I do?
- How do I get my son to sleep in his own bed?
- Our son never wants to go to bed and it’s making us all miserable. We need HELP!
- Since the birth of our third child, my eldest daughter refuses to go to bed. Please help!
- Could my 2-year-old be having sleep terrors?
- Our 6-year-old son falls asleep with relative ease but has a difficult time staying in bed. What can we do?
- My son has trouble sleeping on school nights. How can I help him overcome his anxiety?
- My daughter, 6, had what I think was a panic attack, and she has extreme nightmares. Should I worry?
- My 19-month-old granddaughter’s sleeping habits change when she is at our home. Any suggestions on getting her to sleep?
Sleep-Wake Disorders
- Could my 2-year-old be having sleep terrors?
- Our 6-year-old son falls asleep with relative ease but has a difficult time staying in bed. What can we do?
Sports
MoreStress and Resilience
- My 10-year-old son has become more sensitive over the last two years and now cries over almost anything. What can I do?
- My school’s new emergency plan includes lockdown drills. How can we keep them from scaring the kids?
Substance Use and Addictive Disorders
- How can I protect my son with ADHD from substance abuse?
- What should I do if my child has a drinking problem?
- Is my teenager a substance abuser?
Suicide and Self-Harm
- My son is obsessed with fears that he will kill himself. He gets upset when I try to stop talking about it. What can I tell him?
- My 13-year-old daughter is so anxious about her sexual orientation she is self-harming. What should we do?
- My daughter who is self-harming has agreed to see a counselor. Is there anything else we can do?
- My daughter has been treated for depression, but it doesn’t seem to be working. What can we do?
Teenagers
- What is the best high school school environment for a student with generalized anxiety disorder and social anxiety?
- What type of OT is beneficial for an approaching teenager diagnosed with nonverbal learning disorder?
- My 13-year-old daughter is so anxious about her sexual orientation she is self-harming. What should we do?
- I’m 16 and I’m feeling like there is something wrong with me. I may be depressed but I’m not sure.
- I saw by accident that my 15-year-old daughter has been talking about sex with a guy on Facebook. What should I do?
- Why do teenagers go off ADHD medication?
- My daughter is worrying about her upcoming graduation and the future. Lately she can’t sleep and her heart is racing. Is she having panic attacks?
- Is my teenager a substance abuser?
Toddlers
- My 2-year-old daughter has a lot of fears and they are getting worse. Should I be worried?
- I am a mom with a 1-year-old son. Is a weeklong separation every 4 months OK?
- My 11-month-old likes to play with her hair, and even pulls it. Is this trichotillomania?
Tourette's and Tic Disorders
- Should my son with Tourette’s syndrome get exposure therapy for his school anxiety?
- Stimulant medications helped my son with ADHD, but he developed tics. Is there something else we can try?
- My daughter has facial and hand tics, but not Tourette’s. What causes this?
- Is my son getting the right treatment for his Tourette’s syndrome?
Trauma and Grief
- I have custody of two children, recently in foster care, who engage in sexual behavior. What can I do?
- My son may have been abused, and is now oppositional. Could it be ODD?
- Should children attend funerals?
- How can I talk to young children about a grandparent’s cancer?
- A child whose mother is hospitalized cries daily, disrupting the class. Should we pity her or demand that she perform?
- My 8-year-old son has been dealing with the death of his best friend, and now his uncle has died. How can we tell him?
Trauma and Stress Related Disorders
MoreTreatment
- What type of OT is beneficial for an approaching teenager diagnosed with nonverbal learning disorder?
- My 6-year-old son has seen two occupational therapists, and both wanted to stop treatment at six months. What’s going on?
- Is my son getting the right treatment for his Tourette’s syndrome?