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Preteens

Parenting a preteen can be a minefield. Find support here.

Sudden change in 11 year old Dd’s behavior

17 replies

mesha123 · 16/03/2026 10:20

Dd’s behavior has suddenly changed so much. She is a single child and started secondary school in September. She and her best friend who are together since reception go to the same secondary school but in January her bff left the school and moved to a different one as she was not enjoying the school. Dd didn’t want to change as she made lots of new friends at the school but since December she has been becoming a completely different person. She gets angry on every little stuff. Always argues back and new listens to anything. She is always on a rollercoaster of emotions starting from being upset, angry, scared, sad and everything in between.

Her behavior started to change in December. She has lost interest in studying and barely manages to complete her school work which is always last minute. Her grades are still good though mainly A’s but since her doing everything last minute I am sure the grades will start falling soon. She gets extremely angry on everything and starts hitting her head with her hands, starts stomping, screams and shouts at the top of her lungs, bashes her legs against the glass cabinet and doors whenever she is confronted or if anything doesn’t go as per her wishes. Small things like ordering school supplies if she has almost ran out needs to be ordered at that very instant otherwise she starts having a big meltdown.

When she is agitated she starts telling me that I have to make her happy because I am mad at her and its never her fault. And she won’t go to bed or will start hurting herself in I don’t make her happy in the next minute or few seconds. She even says that she will jump out of the window or run away and never come back coz we hate her so much. Whenever we try to calm her down she screams even more and just doesn’t listen. She keeps saying I will hurt myself with knife and that we want her to die and that we have ruined her life.

These episodes almost are happening on a daily basis and its so worrying. She definitely doesn’t take knife and after an hour or 2 once she is calm she regrets all these and says sorry many times and apologizes for ruining my life. But again the same thing happens next day.

Her school isn’t great although outstanding. I am not happy with the behavior of few other kids in the class. Although there’s a no phone policy many kids are on snapchat or YouTube in class. Couple of kids talk back to the teachers, swear and are extremely rude. One day couple of boys got into a fight and kne if them had brought a knife in school. Luckily no ody git hurt as teachers were reported. I am not sure if she is learning these things from school or subconsciously coz her best friend left school she is missing her but at the same time she doesn’t like change so doesn’t want to move schools herself.

She is always scared that because she worries so much and is so rude to me at times that something bad will happen to me or her and that we will die. Then once she goes into being scared mode she is just inconsolable. Few days ago she came across a reel about cancer and was extremely scared that either her or me will get cancer and die. Then she goes that I have to prove to her that nothing will happen to her or to me. I explained calmly but she wasn’t convinced and just wasn’t ready to understand anything. She has been extremely tired and has been missing couple of hours of sleep every day as she watches a lot of tv and then reads a lot at bedtime. Even though she is exhausted she wouldn’t listen and won’t change her routine about going to sleep on time. Going to sleep is a constant battle every single day. She is more tired at her new secondary school compared to primary as its a very big school and she has to walk around a lot with the heavy bag when moving classes. I feel that her tiredness and lack if getting enough sleep plus watching more has been affecting her mood and hence she is getting more agitated. But the most concerning is her behavior and anger management these days.

I am just at a loss of how to deal with these things as everyday she is mad at something or the other and it is really frustrating. Once she is calm and happy she is a completely different person. I seem to be losing her and feel like I can’t recognize her anymore.

Sorry for the long post and thanks for reading. Did anyone else here had such experience with their kids and how did they approach to resolve it. I am planning to contact gp but from what I hear the waiting lists for cahms are about 2-3 years.

OP posts:
MClair · 16/03/2026 10:48

Sorry you are going through this, it is a difficult age. My 11 year old struggled with the adjustment to secondary school though she is on the referral pathway for ADHD. I would suggest that you do speak to your GP, though actual CAMHS has a long waiting list, there should be a young persons talking therapy service available that have shorter waiting lists. It’s 3 to 4 weeks in our area. It may just be enough for her at this stage. I would also suggest arranging to meet with the pastoral team at the school as there may be services they can refer her into to support. They organised for our daughter to have a space she could go to at lunchtime away from the noise bustle etc and that has really helped her recharge.

mesha123 · 16/03/2026 11:02

MClair · 16/03/2026 10:48

Sorry you are going through this, it is a difficult age. My 11 year old struggled with the adjustment to secondary school though she is on the referral pathway for ADHD. I would suggest that you do speak to your GP, though actual CAMHS has a long waiting list, there should be a young persons talking therapy service available that have shorter waiting lists. It’s 3 to 4 weeks in our area. It may just be enough for her at this stage. I would also suggest arranging to meet with the pastoral team at the school as there may be services they can refer her into to support. They organised for our daughter to have a space she could go to at lunchtime away from the noise bustle etc and that has really helped her recharge.

Thanks for replying I will contact the gp and see what they say and will contact the school too. Although at school she is a complete different person. Very quiet at all times and doesn’t talk much unless asked.

OP posts:
Greenlikehulk · 16/03/2026 11:06

It would be worth looking into PANDAS as some of the behaviours you have mentioned fits.

MooseBeTimeForSnow · 16/03/2026 11:09

PANDAS was my immediate thought as well.

mesha123 · 16/03/2026 11:29

Greenlikehulk · 16/03/2026 11:06

It would be worth looking into PANDAS as some of the behaviours you have mentioned fits.

I looked into it and she had a mild fever and cold back in December which got better in couple of days with calpol. She didn’t have strep though which seems like the reason for developing PANDAS

OP posts:
Greenlikehulk · 16/03/2026 11:45

I think they have found links to causes other than strep so wouldn't rule it out based purely on that. Have a look on pandasnetwork.org

mesha123 · 16/03/2026 15:32

Okay thanks will do

OP posts:
Regretttt · 16/03/2026 16:53

mesha123 · 16/03/2026 10:20

Dd’s behavior has suddenly changed so much. She is a single child and started secondary school in September. She and her best friend who are together since reception go to the same secondary school but in January her bff left the school and moved to a different one as she was not enjoying the school. Dd didn’t want to change as she made lots of new friends at the school but since December she has been becoming a completely different person. She gets angry on every little stuff. Always argues back and new listens to anything. She is always on a rollercoaster of emotions starting from being upset, angry, scared, sad and everything in between.

Her behavior started to change in December. She has lost interest in studying and barely manages to complete her school work which is always last minute. Her grades are still good though mainly A’s but since her doing everything last minute I am sure the grades will start falling soon. She gets extremely angry on everything and starts hitting her head with her hands, starts stomping, screams and shouts at the top of her lungs, bashes her legs against the glass cabinet and doors whenever she is confronted or if anything doesn’t go as per her wishes. Small things like ordering school supplies if she has almost ran out needs to be ordered at that very instant otherwise she starts having a big meltdown.

When she is agitated she starts telling me that I have to make her happy because I am mad at her and its never her fault. And she won’t go to bed or will start hurting herself in I don’t make her happy in the next minute or few seconds. She even says that she will jump out of the window or run away and never come back coz we hate her so much. Whenever we try to calm her down she screams even more and just doesn’t listen. She keeps saying I will hurt myself with knife and that we want her to die and that we have ruined her life.

These episodes almost are happening on a daily basis and its so worrying. She definitely doesn’t take knife and after an hour or 2 once she is calm she regrets all these and says sorry many times and apologizes for ruining my life. But again the same thing happens next day.

Her school isn’t great although outstanding. I am not happy with the behavior of few other kids in the class. Although there’s a no phone policy many kids are on snapchat or YouTube in class. Couple of kids talk back to the teachers, swear and are extremely rude. One day couple of boys got into a fight and kne if them had brought a knife in school. Luckily no ody git hurt as teachers were reported. I am not sure if she is learning these things from school or subconsciously coz her best friend left school she is missing her but at the same time she doesn’t like change so doesn’t want to move schools herself.

She is always scared that because she worries so much and is so rude to me at times that something bad will happen to me or her and that we will die. Then once she goes into being scared mode she is just inconsolable. Few days ago she came across a reel about cancer and was extremely scared that either her or me will get cancer and die. Then she goes that I have to prove to her that nothing will happen to her or to me. I explained calmly but she wasn’t convinced and just wasn’t ready to understand anything. She has been extremely tired and has been missing couple of hours of sleep every day as she watches a lot of tv and then reads a lot at bedtime. Even though she is exhausted she wouldn’t listen and won’t change her routine about going to sleep on time. Going to sleep is a constant battle every single day. She is more tired at her new secondary school compared to primary as its a very big school and she has to walk around a lot with the heavy bag when moving classes. I feel that her tiredness and lack if getting enough sleep plus watching more has been affecting her mood and hence she is getting more agitated. But the most concerning is her behavior and anger management these days.

I am just at a loss of how to deal with these things as everyday she is mad at something or the other and it is really frustrating. Once she is calm and happy she is a completely different person. I seem to be losing her and feel like I can’t recognize her anymore.

Sorry for the long post and thanks for reading. Did anyone else here had such experience with their kids and how did they approach to resolve it. I am planning to contact gp but from what I hear the waiting lists for cahms are about 2-3 years.

Oh this is so hard to read. You sound exhausted and you are clearly doing everything you can.
A few things you said really stood out to me.
She lost her best friend from the school. She is not sleeping enough. She is watching a lot online. And she is at a brand new big school. That is so much for one child to deal with all at once.
The cancer reel scaring her that much makes a lot of sense actually. Kids her age are not ready to process what the algorithm throws at them. It just lands and they do not know what to do with it.
Some simple things that might help:

  • Sleep is the big one. Everything feels worse when you are tired. Try cutting screens an hour before bed and see what happens after a week.
  • When she is melting down do not try to explain or reason. She cannot hear you in that moment. Just stay calm and close.
  • When she is calm, that is when you talk. Not during.
  • Go to your GP and mention anxiety specifically. What you are describing sounds like a child who is really scared and cannot manage those feelings yet.
You are not losing her. She is still your girl. This age is just really really hard. Also I use the Kids n Clicks app from the Play Store to keep me informed about raising kids in the digital age and keep up with it all. i really recommend it.
ThisWiseBiscuit · 16/03/2026 19:31

Sounds like autistic burnout. Almost exactly what my niece went through in year 7

mesha123 · 16/03/2026 19:52

@RegrettttThankyou for taking the time to reply. We are going to reduce her watching especially shorts which I feel messes up with her brain. Although her best friend is in a different school but they meet regularly in the weekends and holidays. I will download the app. Thankyou.

OP posts:
latte4ever · 17/03/2026 11:08

Yes, exactly this but worse.

I actually googled if DD could potentially have a brain tumour as the change was so shocking and sudden i really took a second to catch up and i cant really convey how happy and "normal" she was before this.

She was reffered to CAHMS immediatly and is still under them ( self harming).

They floated autism and ADHD but i didnt think it was and think thats used as an excuse for many.

I have to say the single biggest thing that ive noticed in my DD11 and DD12 was the horrific things they were learning on tiktok.

I was semi relaxed with tiktok, they dont have any other social media and only got phones this year but the damage it has done has been catastrophic!

Asthetic looking videos with hidden meanings regarding suicide depression, low self with and neagtive thoughts flooded their feeds even with every single restriction you could think of.

3 weeks ago we removed all social media, limited their phone usage even more, ( 1 hour a day roblox) and their phones shut off 1 hour before bed time.

It was hell but worth it, im seeing more positve changes every day and i know it wont happen quickly but it is happening.

Octavia64 · 17/03/2026 11:15

Your child is having mental health issues.

they need support.

Camhs is massively overloaded. Speak to the gp but it is likely they’ll just out you on a waiting list.

these days some schools have their own counsellors so contact school - probably the head of year - and let them know about her issues. They may be able to help her access counselling - either at school or may know of other services.

if you can afford to pay for counselling privately then that will enable you to skip the waiting lists.

there are things you can do to reduce the likelihood of bad self harm - remove sharp objects from her room, etc.

there is some guidance here.

https://health.choc.org/making-your-home-safe-for-a-suicidal-or-self-harming-child/

more general advice - limit social media as much as possible. Get her out in the sunshine whenever possible. Find activities that she enjoys out of school - ideally physical and social ones but if there is anything she enjoys go with it.

settle in for the long haul - this takes weeks and months to resolve it’s not a short term thing.

Making your home safe for a suicidal or self-harming child

A CHOC psychologist offers life-saving strategies to parents for keeping their home safe for children who have the urge for self-harm.

https://health.choc.org/making-your-home-safe-for-a-suicidal-or-self-harming-child/

MrsFeb · 17/03/2026 12:10

Puberty.

And possibly OCD?

Is it possible that dd's bf left the school because she found your dd's difficult? She may know more than what your dd is letting on at home, is it worth having a chat with her mum?

I'd get private counselling.

MrsFeb · 17/03/2026 12:13

Also, excessive phone use. Maybe she is seeing disturbing content. I'd put her on a dumb phone until this has cleared.

MrsFeb · 17/03/2026 12:17

latte4ever · 17/03/2026 11:08

Yes, exactly this but worse.

I actually googled if DD could potentially have a brain tumour as the change was so shocking and sudden i really took a second to catch up and i cant really convey how happy and "normal" she was before this.

She was reffered to CAHMS immediatly and is still under them ( self harming).

They floated autism and ADHD but i didnt think it was and think thats used as an excuse for many.

I have to say the single biggest thing that ive noticed in my DD11 and DD12 was the horrific things they were learning on tiktok.

I was semi relaxed with tiktok, they dont have any other social media and only got phones this year but the damage it has done has been catastrophic!

Asthetic looking videos with hidden meanings regarding suicide depression, low self with and neagtive thoughts flooded their feeds even with every single restriction you could think of.

3 weeks ago we removed all social media, limited their phone usage even more, ( 1 hour a day roblox) and their phones shut off 1 hour before bed time.

It was hell but worth it, im seeing more positve changes every day and i know it wont happen quickly but it is happening.

Such a cautionary tale.

I need to look at my dd's phone settings to make sure TT is not available to her.

We have never allowed TT or even IG. But YouTube must also have damaging content and one are on YT.

Would you share more details about what your dds saw on tt @latte4ever ?

mesha123 · 17/03/2026 12:23

MrsFeb · 17/03/2026 12:10

Puberty.

And possibly OCD?

Is it possible that dd's bf left the school because she found your dd's difficult? She may know more than what your dd is letting on at home, is it worth having a chat with her mum?

I'd get private counselling.

Edited

No her bf didn’t change schools because of Dd. There were instances in her friends class (they both were in same school but different forms) where some kids took videos and posted on tiktok. Also the class were very disruptive especially when there were substitute teachers. They both still meet everyday in holidays, weekends, have sleepovers etc.

I also thought puberty but don’t think it can affect at this level tbh. She is a completely different person at school (very quiet) and very happy and never exhibits this kind if behavior when she is with friends

OP posts:
latte4ever · 17/03/2026 12:56

MrsFeb · 17/03/2026 12:17

Such a cautionary tale.

I need to look at my dd's phone settings to make sure TT is not available to her.

We have never allowed TT or even IG. But YouTube must also have damaging content and one are on YT.

Would you share more details about what your dds saw on tt @latte4ever ?

Ok here goes,

My DD had set up another tiktok account and blocked it from us. On this account all the content she was viewing was mostly videos with images of pretty girls staring into the sunset with quotes of the following

" the way i act you would never know mental health has almost taken my life"
"Feel so unimportant to every single person in my life"
" i cant do this anymore"
"when you go into your room to hide and you just cry"
"little miss im ok but stays up all night bawling her eyes out

Then we have the most sinister ones like pictures of aerosol cans saying "if you know you know"

Or

" next time it will work"
" when the blood is dripping off your arm and the satisfaction"
"next ones coming up but this time ill make sure it works"

When we found this out we immediatly closed her secret account ( her main account was totally normal.

We then put a block on her phone 9pm-9am so no phone use, we then went into tiktok added it to my tiktok so i could see what she was doing, and put the restricted filter on it meaning all "harmful" vidoes wouldnt appear.

We then added every single harmful keyword we could think of to filter out any vidoes that included things like "sad" "suicide" "blood" "relapse" "negative". There was over 200 key words in there.we then refreshed her feed and liked videos of puppies and baking and positive quotes.

Did it for both DDs

And do you know what, it didnt work, these vidoes were still coming through, they were still addicted to their phones, still watching harmful content.

Thats when we made the decision to block it entirely, we also blocked youtube as when we blocked and deleted their tiktok they went straight to youtube and started watching youtube shorts.

We have a 1 hour block when playing roblox it shuts off, their phones now shut off 1 hour before bedtime so 8pm.

They both train in sports so actually most weekdays they dont even get a change to be on their phones but even with their 17 hours a week training they were still addicted.

I was and am still so angry at myself for allowing it to happen, for not being on the ball and not taking social media seriously.

Hopefully i can reverse some of the damage done

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