Problem Child (12 yrs old)

obviously something is going on for him to be acting this way and possibly cutting himself. i really think that you need to get him into a counselor. sometimes it's easier for a child to talk to someone that they don't know, like a counselor, than it is to talk to a parent. counselors sometimes have a way of asking things are making stories that help to get the problem out in the open from a child. good luck and keep us posted. pray a lot and keep the faith that things are going to be okay. God bless

first on all, I do not know if you believe in God, start to do that. Second give him love, that is powerful. if he lost the gift dont make him feel guilty. let him feel you are more friend than mother. teach him we are equal, and that no one is more than anyone

There is obviously something troubling him that he feels he cannot talk about and this could be why he has scars, sometimes this is how they deal with their feelings. I have an eldest son who accidentally stumbled across a secret within our family which ultimately came out and caused me a whole lot of pain, my son feeling guilty and feeling to blame and also not being able to deal with me being so unhappy started to cut himself, and he did it pretty badly. This was because he didnt know how to deal with his emotions and he did not know how to deal with the hurt I was suffering that he felt he had caused. Once I discovered it I dealt with it and talked to him but getting him to open up was hard. Also your son is coming to the age where his emotions and everything changes and this can be hard for them too, but its finding the problem thats hardest, I am lucky in that I have a pretty good relationship with my eldest son and he opens up and talks pretty well. My next son down however is harder and if he has a problem at school he generally turns into a child from hell at home! He is horrible to his siblings and moody and he gets tummyache and doesnt want to go to school and so I have to start digging, I ask him questions about everything at school and dig away until I start to find the problem. Try talking to your son, see if he will open up about anything, tell him that whatever he tells you wont shock you and you wont judge him and tell him that whatever he tells you is just between you and him, it does sound like there is a problem at school but it could be anything. I really hope that you can get to the bottome of it and sort it out, its always so hard and worrying when you see them suffering but dont know how to help them.

as the mother of a thirteen year old this is troubling to hear. mabe he is being bullied at school. these are very formible times for our kids. some kids handle bullying very artfully... but some turn into themselves and become depressed....hence the cutting. isolation is also a sign of depression. it would be wise to take him to see a therapist as soon as possible. sometimes kids talk more freely with strangers than they talk with their parents. good luck..and i hope everything turns out ok for your son. God bless.