Although many challenging situations resolve over time with young adults simply because they move out or move on, continuing to face these challenges day in and day out can be daunting. What’s a parent to do?
Check Out Free Online Resources for Parents
First, there are educational and parent support resources that can be helpful. This website was developed specifically to address this need. Here are links to several free resources on this site:
- Quizzes
- Interview questions to connect to your young adult
- Tips
- A helpful bibliography
Also, the site includes a link to books that address the practices parents need to strengthen in order to let go and launch their young adult. One specific practice book available to struggling parents of young adults is Parenting Our Young Adults with Love and Backbone. For more educational or parent support resources Google sites using some version of the challenge you are facing or the problem your son or daughter has, mainly if there is a special need such as Asperger’s Syndrome or ADHD. Be cautious about taking advice from just any source on the internet. Reputable sources like WebMD, Mayo Clinic, John’s Hopkins, and national associations devoted to specific adolescent/ young adult issues are typically the most reliable.
Set Up a Parent Consultation
Second, if general education is not proving helpful, you may need a more personal approach. In this regard, there are a couple of options. I offer parent consultation by phone that can provide a private, customized education and resource. To learn more about this, click on this link. There may be other educational and parent consultation services in your community, but my experience is that these are few and far between. Although the need for help with parents of young adults has increased with the millennial and the emerging GenZ populations, resources have not followed suit.
Contact a Therapist
Third, you may need to contact a health care professional – psychologist, marriage and family therapist, social worker, etc. Unfortunately, if you google help for parents with adolescents or young adults, the focus is on signs or symptoms presented by the child that warrant professional advice, not the parent. Often the parent is unable to persuade the young adult to get help. I often see the parents in these cases because the young adult won’t seek help, and the parent feels anxious, frustrated, and helpless. I become a coach for the parents on how to respond to the young adult’s behavior.
Please contact me if you wish to set up an appointment or want help identifying appropriate professional resources- drjackstoltzfus@yahoo.com or 651-486-0122 (ext) 2.
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