VOX ATL Reporter’s Message To Parents: Take Teens’ Mental Health Seriously

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May 3rd, 2019

“If teenagers no longer feel as if their own parents can be considered an emotional outlet in their time of need, many will have to deal with suppressing their feelings until eventually they just break,” writes VOX Investigates reporter Nia-Simone Sherwood.

Art courtesy of VOX ATL

By Nia-Simone Sherwood

At the age of 6, a sensitive little girl, now in elementary, believes she’s the queen of the jungle as she attempts to conquer the monkey bars. Halfway across, she falls, scraping her knee on the concrete. As tears consume her eyes, she cries for help. The teacher runs to her side, comforting her as they walk to the nurse together.

Years go by, and the fearless girl, now age 14, sits on the edge of her bed with a phone in one hand and tissues in the other, crying about her first heartbreak — a silly boy she won’t even remember in four years. By her side, her mother wipes the young teen’s tear-stained cheeks.

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