5 Signs That It's Time to Seek Outside Help for a Struggling Child The current open question in the New Parent, Old Parent collaboration between Motherlode and Booming brought forth some of the most helpful advice I've ever seen from a "crowdsource." I asked, "How do you know when it's time to get professional help for a child who is anxious, depressed or angry beyond her years?" Behind the scenes, I was a little worried about that as a question. On the one hand, it seemed vague. How old a child? What kind of problems? But I had a sense that for many parents who had chosen to find outside help for a child who was struggling emotionally, there must have been a moment - a point when the ordinary seemed to tip over into the extraordinary, and it became clear that reaching out would help. I thought others, looking back, might have something to say about the moment when they could have sought outside help, or the ways that help failed, or why they considered and rejected the idea. Those parents (whom I always think of as the "been there done that" parents) did have something to say. Plenty of parents hesitated to consult someone from outside the family. They worried about possibly labeling their child; about whether the child would welcome help; about whether they "ought" to be able to handle things. But as I read through the stories of those who sought help and advice, some successfully, others less so, some very clear patterns emerged. This isn't professional advice. These may not be the markers a counselor, psychologist or therapist would suggest. But parents who have watched their child wrestle with anxiety, depression and other challenges name these as the signs that it's time to seek help: When your child is endangering himself or threatening to harm himself. I knew it was time for outside help when our daughter was four and, during one of her daily rages, declared she would "make myself dead" (from behind a locked bathroom door). - Martha When your other children are unhappy, frightened or upset by a sibling's behavior, or a parent's response to that behavior. Our daughter was still throwing very long, angry tantrums at 5 and 6. She was well behaved in school, but so unpredictable at home it was really starting to affect our family life. She sometimes got so angry she would physically attack us. My husband and I would argue about the right way to discipline her. My younger son once said "how come (big sister) controls the family." ... We felt as if our whole life was being ruled by her behavior & it was dragging us down. We finally started seeing a family therapist once a week. ... My husband and I say it's some of the best money we ever spent. - MomofTwo When the child's behavior is interfering with his daily life, or the family's functioning. When the anxiety's voice becomes louder than the members of the family, that's when it's time to seek treatment. It made it easy for us to judge - as long as we were able to put the needs and wants of our family ahead of the needs and wants of his anxiety, we stayed the course. But around age 6.5, the anxiety grew to be a near-constant "presence" in our lives - trying to dictate what we did and when. That's when we went to therapy. -