I just wondered at what point you would consider someone to be in need of support/health for their mental health?
To give some background, teenage dd (16) and her friends always seem to have a 'thing' (usually something like a love for a tv show or band).
At the moment it's germs. There's a group of them and all seem to be acting the same. (I am good friends with some of the other mums and we've discussed it and it doesn't seem any 'one' is worse than the other but all of them seen to be encouraging each other).
Some examples:
-refusing to touch door handles/taps etc in public - they have developed a 'method' where they use their dress/skirt/coat to touch a sort handle or tap etc. Over the holidays she has been 'teaching' my younger DDs how to 'stay safe from the germs' which I have stopped.
-if anyone has any sort of cough/cold she won't go anywhere near them. In the supermarket she had to check the checkout person didn't have any visible signs of cough/cold before she would allow the shopping to be put down. She has told me that her and her friends have refused to pay for items at the till and left if the person behind the till was ill.
-we had guests round yesterday and two of them had colds (sneezing, coughing, blowing noses). We were playing some games and she washed her hands obsessively after she touched anything they touched (to the point that by bedtime they there cracked and red).
Just wondered what other parents of teenagers make of this? I don't want to take her to the gp yet as it would seem her friends are behaving the same way. Would it be worth contacting the school? Maybe they can offer some support for the group of them?