It won't come as a surprise that children need help. They're tiny little humans (well at least in a parent's eyes) that aren't fully developed yet and would like some guidance in the big bad world. But many kids, probably aren't going to ask, and they'll struggle by themselves. I'm not here to give you a parenting class, every child is different and its HARD to be a parent, but its also hard to be a kid. They will have a friendship problem, then an academic problem, than a 'Mum I have food tech tomorrow and don't have any ingredients,' problem. But lets deep-dive into these issues. Having troubles with friends can cause children to feel lonely and unhappy, and are at risk of performing badly in school. But do you know what else makes kids struggle in classes? Pressure. Its a little word with a lot of meaning. For example, do they feel pressure because they have shining stars as older siblings, or are they trying to be that star in the middle of a dark galaxy? I recently came across my old diary, and I suppose that I was in such a terrible state, denying all my feelings, having to carry all this pressure, that I made myself forget everything. By this I mean I had no recollection of any of it happening until I read the pages of sad little teenage me. All I wanted was someone to talk to, and not just a 'Yeah today was such a bad day we had double P.E and blah blah blah.' I wanted to someone to reach out and be generally concerned for me. Do you want your child to go through that? This might seem really silly, but next time you child is locked up in their room, pop in and say something like 'If you ever need to talk to someone I'm here.' They will probably give you a funny look and think you're a bit weird, but deep down they will be glad that you're there for them. I repeat, this is in no way a parenting class, more like a little reminder to think about how you felt as a kid, and look out for your child's mental health. :)