One in five young people has a serious mental health problem (depression, adhd, anxiety, conduct, and eating disorders) at any given time, according to the U.S. National Health Information Center.

Like adults, children and adolescents can have mental health disorders that interfere with the way they think, feel, and act. When untreated, mental health disorders can lead to school failure, family conflicts, drug abuse, violence, and even suicide. Untreated mental health disorders can be very costly to families.

"I lost a 14 year old son to suicide. He always had demons he fought his whole life. I do know that once someone sets their mind to it, there's no stopping them BUT maybe if he had gotten help back when he was younger, he would still be here now."

At HealthyPlace.com, we know that parenting can be a rewarding and sometimes tough job, but parenting a child with mental health concerns brings its own special challenges and can be extraordinarily difficult and stressful at times for parents and other members of the family.

In our Parenting Community, you'll find in-depth, authoritative information on various aspects of parenting as well as parenting a child with a mental illness. We also have comprehensive information on the different psychological disorders in other HealthyPlace.com Communities. Our goal is to help you learn about parenting, mental health disorders, and to offer you support in managing your and/or your child's psychiatric symptoms.

And if you are looking for parenting support, we hope you'll join the HealthyPlace.com Support Network (our social network). Sometimes, communicating with others who have similar experiences and who have faced similar problems, can bring comfort and be a great help.