Becky hates to admit it now but at first, she kind of agreed with her friends and family. She thought maybe her son was being lazy and that's why he wouldn't get out of bed. Maybe that is just what teens did and she needed to motivate him.
So, she set out on a mission to "fix" it all. She bulldozed into his room and ripped open the curtains, letting in some much-needed sunlight.
She made her son help her as they took down every dirty dish, scrubbed every surface, and let in as much fresh air as possible. That night Becky went to bed thinking tomorrow would be different for her son.
But it wasn't.
He still didn't get out of bed. The clean sheets and fresh air didn't have the effect that Becky was hoping for. Becky didn't know what to do next. It felt like unchartered waters for her.
Becky had one thought in her head the entire time; "What did I do to cause this? Where did I mess up?"
She started tirelessly Googling ways to help, and she found the Parent Alliance's website through a blog about what to do if you couldn't get your child to go to school.
She read through the article in tears because for the first time in a long time she felt like it wasn't just her - other parents were dealing with this too.
It wasn't because she was a bad mom, or that her son was lazy. She saw now that he needed help.
After poking around on the website Becky learned more about The Parent Alliance and decided that the next day, she would give us a call. She wasn't the type of person to ask for help, but she didn't know what else to do.
The Parent Alliance helped her recognize that what her son was struggling with might be depression.
Becky was ready to spring into action but wasn't sure what her best next step was. The Parent Alliance helped Becky understand her options to get her son help. Becky, with the support and guidance from the Parent Alliance, got her son on a waitlist to see a specialist as we made sure that Becky too had all the support she needed.
Fast forward to today and her son now is finding joy in things he once loved. He has his friends over on the weekends again and lights up when he talks about the video game he is playing. He's getting out of bed, and when he feels like he can't he now knows he can turn to his mom for help.
This was all scary and overwhelming for Becky, but the Parent Alliance was there every step, always just a message away.
Becky’s son is not the only Pennsylvania child struggling to get out of bed.
Becky is not the only parent trying everything she can think of to help.
The Parent Alliance is just a phone call away for families like theirs – and you can ensure that is always the case.
Would you give today to help a family like Becky’s? For a monthly gift of just $5, you can make sure a parent doesn’t have to face their next parenting challenge alone. A challenge that could change their child’s life trajectory.