Is there a Mumsnet for teens, or do they not really do chat/advice?

[VitreousHumour]

DD is having some friendship problems. What she's finding very hard is not having anyone to chat with via text through the day, or an outlet for when she's struggling with her mood (anxiety). I wondered whether anyone knew of anywhere she could go online where she didn't have to use her real name and which was safe-ish and friendly.

If not, what do your teens do if they haven't got a solid friendship circle? Does anyone even do 'chat' any more or is it all just reactions or comments on influencer posts?!

The young minds charity might be able to help, I'm sure they have a forum on there for teens. Worth checking, they offer a lot of support.

Thanks for replying girlofthenorth - I can't see a forum on the site unfortunately but it was a good idea.

Have you googled 'internet or pals?' Try that as a starting point and see what you can find that's reputable

My second suggestion would be thinking about what she likes to do - hobbies, etc. Does she game? Draw? Like films? How old is she? Would she consider

There'll be a whole lot of other girls (and boys) right now experiencing the same, that's for sure! It's just a case now of getting them online together to chat.

The student room seems to be the MN equivalent for teens IME. There is an app which I’ve found crap but it’s better on the website. Also if you put the school year in they do tend to send rather helpful emails, eg making gcse choices, university open days.

Thanks both - those are good suggestions.

Another one here saying The Student Room. DD used it a little bit to get some advice when she was choosing her GCSE options. It’s vast and seems quite friendly.

Does she have an interest she could pursue on line ? There a few classes I've noticed on zoom, art, singing, drama, reading, sewing etc ...would she be up for that ? I run a drama class online atm , not ideal for everyone but they find it helpful meeting and talking , and some of them aren't seeing anyone in RL. Then it's also moderated by an adult with credentials so safer.

There’s a new app for teens called Kooth. There is chat feature on there. Worth a look

Student room also has general chat section not just on study

I teach teens and would echo Kooth as a good place to get help and advice with anxiety and moods.

Hey thanks everyone - these are all very promising. Both student room and Kooth could be great - she needs somewhere to browse for interest like we do on MN as well as being able to ask for (or give) advice.

girlofthenorth she loves drama and will be doing GCSE. Also some extra curricular playwriting thing via school. But could you poss DM me a link to your class? I think she'd prob be too self-conscious but it's a lovely idea and even if she doesn't want to do it I'd like to show her that there's stuff she's interested in out there. Thank you.

That was clear as mud sorry - I meant that Kooth looks good for mental health stuff and TSR looks good for when she wants to get away from mental health stuff and just interact.

I'd love to find somewhere that was unrelated to schoolwork (she gets stressed) or mental health though, if anyone has any other ideas.