A girl of 15 years with same-sex sexual preference tried to take her life three times because she was not accepted by her parents because the replied as: We raised you with good manners? You’re confused. Are you crazy? We do not accept this in our house!

I do not want to go to school and I’d rather not go anywhere. But you’re going crazy. You have to go to school: parents say. I can’t be forced: says the 16 year old. (The young man does not want to go to school because his peers are targeting his race).

Dr. my daughter seems to have mental problems like anxiety, she cannot bear the stress. She is consumed by it. Meanwhile, my patient of 14 years is suffering from severe anxiety (She is being harassed at school).

These are some of the cases which I faced the past week.
All have something in common. Parents are unable to communicate well with their children and cannot understand them.

All parents of teenagers have gone through a stage where they think that aliens have exchanged their son/daughter who was so kind and funny with a person they don’t know. They don’t understand the main issue.
We must pay close attention when our children begin to show signs or behave in a different way, are isolated, easily angered, or simply not obey anyone.

When this happens, you must find a moment to communicate and talk to them. Take some time from your busy schedule and talk to your kids about how they feel and how was their day, without judging them, so they know that you are with them whenever they need help with anything.
Teach them the value of being part of a family and that one helps the other.
We must teach them that we all have flaws and we will find many obstacles in our paths. Let’s make wrong decisions because:

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall”.
Nelson Mandela

Remember parents are the best friends of their children and the best legacy we can leave is our cultural values, the unión, the value of love, the power of prayer and believing in God because: “A family who prays together, stays together”.
-Dr. Denise Núñez is a pediatrician and founder of the Niño de la Caridad Foundation in the Bronx.