WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – Saturday is World Teen Mental Wellness Day. It is a day that brings awareness to the challenges school-aged children can face. Parents and guardians can play a big part in those children’s lives and their emotional well-being.

A Center for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C.) survey of youth collected in 2021 found increasing mental health challenges among all teens. In the study, experts mention that feelings of violence, suicidal thoughts, and behaviors are more common in LGBT+ and female teenagers. Poor mental health can impact many areas of a teen’s life. The teen’s health behaviors can even carry over into their adult years.

If parents need help starting a conversation about mental health with their children they can visit sites like sounditouttogether.org. There are also resources in Wilmington that parents can use to help their teens get the help they need. Coastal Horizons has licensed mental health providers who specialize in service delivery to children, adolescents, and young adults from the ages of 6 to 24 years old.

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