Category: Children’s Mental Health

This section offers guidance for depicting parents and caregivers navigating mental health with their kids. While the tips apply broadly, they focus especially on the adolescent years—roughly ages 10 through the late teens.

We use the terms “parents,” “caregivers,” and “parents/caregivers” throughout to reflect the many ways young people receive support. That includes not just biological or legal parents, but also grandparents, foster parents, siblings, chosen family, and other trusted adults.

1. Presence matters more than perfection.
   1. Even imperfect caregivers can be a powerful protective factor for young people. What matters most is showing up — consistently, emotionally, and with a willingness to try again after missteps.
2. Emotional intensity is normal, and can be a sign of safety.
   1. Mood swings, shutdowns, and conflict often reflect that a young person feels safe enough to let their guard down. Teens may seek independence, but they still crave connection. Caregivers who stay curious and attuned can better tell what’s typical and what may need more support.
3. Support is a practice, not a quick fix.
   1. There’s rarely a single cause or solution for mental health challenges. Caregivers who model therapy, coping skills, and regular emotional check-ins show that mental health is something we all have — and can care for over time.

Storytelling Tips

Show Conversations About Mental Health and Help-Seeking

• Show parents initiating open, supportive conversations about emotions.
  • 93% of parents say it’s important to talk to their kids about mental health, but 59% don’t know how to start. Stories can model what those conversations actually look like during everyday moments like car rides, bedtime, or walks. 
  • Not every check-in has to be serious. A parent saying something like, “What have you been thinking about lately?” or “I’ve got time if you feel like talking” can show care without putting pressure on the moment. Relaxed conversations like this can help.
  • Check out a range of helpful resources for viewers here.

• Reflect that not every conversation will go smoothly, and that’s OK.
  • Sometimes parents get it wrong. They might react too fast, dismiss something, or not know what to say. What matters is coming back. A moment like “I wasn’t really listening earlier. Want to try again?” can model repair and growth.
  • Normalize that talking about mental health can feel vulnerable for parents too. A little awkwardness is better than avoidance, and making an effort to overcome this discomfort can go a long way in helping kids feel safe to open up.
• Depicting families breaking cycles of silence between parents and children can have positive, real world impact.
  • 60% of youth who seek mental health support go to someone other than their parents first. Among youth who struggled significantly and didn’t reach out, 83% said they didn’t want to tell their parents.
  • Reasons often include fear of judgment, worry they’ll be seen as a burden, or past experiences of being dismissed. Stories that depict emotionally safe parent-child conversations can help break down these barriers.
  • For storytellers, this is a powerful opportunity to show parents being there, even imperfectly, and to model the kind of trust-building that can help a young person reach out in real life. These moments also help take pressure off the child by reinforcing that they’re not to blame and don’t have to carry things alone. 
  • For example, a parent might say, “I’m so glad you told me about this,” or “You can always talk to me about things like this.” They might also say, “I want you to know I’m always here to support you, and nothing you tell me could ever change how much I love you.”
  • Visit this site’s section on suicide to learn more about safe depictions of conversations around suicide, ideation, and attempts.

Spotlight Support from Friends and Family

• Model parents listening without jumping to fix the problem.
  • Youth are more likely to open up when they don’t feel like they’re being judged or fixed. Show parents validating emotions with simple responses like “That makes sense” or “I’ve felt that way too.”
  • Sometimes the best thing a parent can say is nothing. Sitting in silence, listening closely, or just saying “Thanks for telling me” can mean a lot. Highlight that listening can be a form of showing love.
  • Parents can also ask: “Do you want me to just listen, or are you looking for help?” This gives kids a sense of control over the conversation and shows respect for their emotional process.
  • Show caregivers guiding the conversation with curiosity rather than control or jumping to solutions. They might ask, “Do you have any ideas for how you want to handle it?” or “What’s something that might help?”
• Model caregivers noticing subtle warning signs and responding with curiosity to shifts in a child’s mood, energy, or behavior.
  • Depicting adults noticing and inquiring about subtle shifts in their children, like becoming quieter, more irritable, or more withdrawn, can normalize checking in for audiences.
  • Sometimes, just the knowledge that a caring adult notices their behavior patterns can serve as a signal to a young person that it’s safe to talk about their feelings.

Represent the Causes of Mental Health Challenges Accurately

• Show that mental health challenges can affect any young person, regardless of background or parenting style.
  • Emotional issues don’t  only stem from dramatic or dysfunctional situations. Young people in loving, supportive homes can still struggle. That doesn’t mean something went wrong, it means they’re human in a difficult world. 
  • Represent the many factors that influence emotional health: biology, coping skills, school stress, social pressures, identity exploration, systemic inequities, and more. 
  • Avoid suggesting that certain mental health challenges only show up in specific communities, cultures or groups with specific lived experiences.
• Avoid reinforcing the idea that a child’s struggle is tied to a single cause.
  • Parents often try to identify “the thing” that’s causing emotional distress — a breakup, bullying, a bad grade — believing that if they fix that one issue, everything will get better. But mental health challenges are usually shaped by a mix of internal and external factors that aren’t always visible or easily addressed.
  • When stories pin emotional struggles on one event, it can lead parents to overlook deeper needs and delay more comprehensive support. For example, if a parent believes bullying is the sole reason their child is suicidal, they might focus only on ending the bullying instead of exploring underlying issues or getting professional help.

Diversify Representation

• Show caregiving that reflects a wide range of cultural norms and family structures.
  • Caregivers aren’t always parents. They might be grandparents, siblings, foster parents, chosen family, or trusted adults like coaches or mentors. Recognizing this diversity makes stories feel more true to life
  • This is especially true for LGBTQ+ youth. Nearly one in two say they don’t feel supported by their families. Showing different ways love and care show up for this community helps more young people feel seen and gives a range of caregivers permission to support in ways that make sense for them.
  • Not every home looks the same, and that’s okay. Avoid suggesting there’s one ideal version of parenting. Let families be messy, creative, and real in how they show up for one another.

• Show how culture shapes emotional expression, support, and healing.
  • In many families, emotions aren’t always shared through words. Love might be expressed through cooking a favorite meal, checking in with a joke, or sitting quietly nearby. That doesn’t mean care is missing; it just looks different. Characters can acknowledge these patterns and try to connect in new ways, like saying, “We don’t usually talk about this stuff, but I want to try.”
  • Traditions like storytelling, spiritual practices, community meals, and collective problem-solving can be powerful parts of emotional support. These practices are often central to how families care for one another. Consult culturally grounded experts or people with lived experience to reflect these approaches with care and accuracy.
  • Show generations and cultures learning from one another. These moments might include tension, but also curiosity, growth, and mutual understanding. Support takes many forms and honoring that complexity makes stories feel more authentic.

Depict Effective, Realistic Help-Seeking and Treatment

• Show what treatment actually looks like and how caregivers can make it feel safe and approachable.
  • Help-seeking is often framed as a last resort for adolescents. Instead, portray it as one of many healthy, proactive options — just like asking for support with school, finances, or relationships. People turn to experts for guidance all the time. Mental health should be no different.
  • 68% of young people who didn’t seek help said they didn’t know what a professional would do. Depict parents helping their child take the first step, from explaining what happens in therapy, to choosing a professional, to discovering the process can be collaborative and empowering.
  • Let caregivers introduce treatment using approachable language, like “Sometimes talking to someone helps” or “I didn’t realize how much therapy helped until I tried it myself.”
  • Depict young people being active participants in their care by voicing preferences, asking questions, or switching approaches. When youth feel respected and heard, they’re more likely to trust the process.

Highlight the Power of Coping Skills and Self-Care

• Portray emotional tools as part of everyday family life.
  • Coping skills shouldn’t just show up in response to a crisis. Show families building emotional support habits into daily routines, like taking walks to unwind, using music to shift moods, or practicing gratitude at dinner.
  • Depict moments where parents and children use strategies together, like naming emotions, breathing exercises, or journaling. These rituals help build regulation and connection.
  • Show parents using language that makes coping feel normal and accessible: “Let’s take a minute to reset” or “What’s something that might help you right now?”

• Show parents using and talking about their own coping skills.
  • Young people learn most by watching what adults do. Let parents say, “I’m feeling overwhelmed…I need a minute to breathe,” or “I’m going for a walk to clear my head.”
  • These moments show that emotional regulation is a skill, not a personality trait, and that it takes practice — even for adults.
  • Include moments where caregivers name their limits with care: “I want to support you, and I also need to take care of myself right now.” Show them seeking help or community when they need backup. That models self-awareness, not failure.
  • Show parents exercising healthy boundaries by stepping into another room to talk through their feelings and decide what to share with their kids.

• Acknowledge digital tools as valid parts of emotional care.
  • Digital spaces can be meaningful tools for support and expression. Let a young person follow a mental health creator, use a playlist to shift their mood, or post artwork that helps them process feelings.
  • Parents don’t need to like or support every platform, but social media is  big part of young people’s lives today. Show caregivers staying open and curious about how digital tools might help their children feel less alone and inspire conversations about mental health. 

This section of the Mental Health Media Guide offers insight and recommendations surrounding the portrayal of kids’ mental health in entertainment media geared toward adult audiences. The tips in this section can inform storylines depicting young characters or cast members, their families, and others in the community who may play a role in influencing a child’s mental health. 

For consultation on resources to support the well-being of kids on set, visit the expert directory.

1. Model healthy adult-child relationships
   1. Research consistently shows that a positive, supportive relationship with at least one trusted adult—be it a parent, teacher, mentor, or other caregiver—can significantly contribute to protective factors that support a child’s mental health.
2. Highlight that mental health issues in kids can show up as physical symptoms
   1. Symptoms of mental health challenges like anxiety or depression can present as physical symptoms in kids (like bellyaches, headaches, or changes in eating and sleeping habits), but adults can easily miss the underlying cause. Depicting characters whose symptoms are connected to underlying emotional or psychological distress can help increase understanding.
3. Focus on positive outcomes with professionals
   1. For a variety of reasons, including shame, skepticism, or hard-to-understand symptoms, adults may be unlikely to seek mental health support for kids. On average, it takes 10-11 years from a child’s first symptom of a mental health disorder until they receive treatment. Showing families with young children positively engaging with mental health professionals can help increase understanding and decrease fear of treatment.

This section was written in partnership with Kids Mental Health Foundation

Storytelling Tips

Diversify Representation

• Demonstrate how experiences with mental health challenges, warning signs, help-seeking, and access to care can show up differently across communities and identities. 
  • Kids are unlikely to receive mental health support unless the adults in their lives can spot warning signs and seek help. Showing this process in underrepresented communities can have a powerful impact. 
  • It’s helpful to show stories that have caregivers teaching children about their cultural or racial background to build their confidence and identity, while also preparing them for possible barriers and discrimination or racism they may encounter. 
  • BIPOC kids with mental health challenges are more likely than white kids to be punished for their behaviors. Demonstrating this systemic pattern can help families and communities learn to advocate for better services for their kids.
  • Find opportunities to show kids from marginalized communities experiencing moments of joy and community. These communities often have higher rates of mental health concerns and lower access to care due to a variety of systemic barriers. Depicting these barriers authentically can help call attention to them, but depicting the strength and joy in these communities in the face of barriers can be equally humanizing and powerful.

Portray a Range of Mental Health Experiences

• Show children dealing with experiences across the mental health continuum, from day-to-day emotional struggles to diagnosed conditions.
  • Children do not need to have a mental health diagnosis to have discussions about big emotions, how they feel in their body and how to cope. These are skills everyone can learn about from the moment they are born.
• Highlight the range of symptoms that can indicate underlying mental health challenges in children.
  • A child struggling with mental health challenges may show unexpected symptoms, like behavioral issues or physical health symptoms. For example, a child who is struggling with academics in school could have a difficult home environment including trauma, a sick caregiver or other concerns.
  • Don’t sensationalize the symptoms that children and families face in the depths of their disorders. Try to avoid focusing on the extremes of an individual’s experience, glorifying their pain or exaggerating an individual’s experience as normal baseline behavior for everyone with that issue. Show the real challenges children face on a daily basis and the steps that children or families take to build resilience on a regular basis.

Model Age-Appropriate Conversations 

• Model the importance of adults listening to–and connecting with–children by showing adult characters checking in with kids about a variety of topics.
  • In the same way we talk to infants and teach colors, numbers, and letters, adults can teach emotional words to infants. You can show adults labeling emotions for young characters or reading to children and discussing the emotions in a book.
  • Research suggests that showing adults and children having realistic, supportive conversations about tough topics like bullying, racism, school violence, or self-harm can encourage young people to seek out trusted adults in their own lives when these issues occur.
• Ensure discussions of suicide are developmentally appropriate, especially in children under the age of 12, and avoid details that may lead to contagion. 
  • Consult an expert in kids’ mental health when portraying children navigating complex topics. The Expert Directory has contact information for individuals and organizations with a variety of areas of expertise. 
  • Help viewers understand signs that a child is at risk for self-harm or suicidal behaviors by showing a child displaying major changes in their mood or activity level, no longer doing the things they used to enjoy, or significant changes in in eating or sleeping.
  • Provide examples of adult characters directly addressing suicide by asking children if they have ever had thoughts of suicide, talking about what they can find purpose or meaning in life, asking open-ended questions and giving children space to talk about all of their feelings.

Depict Effective, Realistic Help-Seeking and Treatment

• Depict adults seeking mental health support for kids the same way they do for physical health issues, which can encourage audiences to do the same. 
  • Families often don’t have a starting point for how to begin their mental health treatment journey or what to expect. Decrease the fear of mental health treatment by showing characters finding a therapist, asking the right questions and setting up an appointment.
  • Provide and model appropriate portrayals of what effective therapy looks like. For example, have a therapist teach a skill from an evidence-based treatment (teaching a patient to challenge negative thoughts, creating an exposure plan for a child with anxiety, etc.) to the main character. Show a child character, entire family or caregiver making progress based on therapy or talking about how their therapist has been key to their growth and positive change.
  • Avoid showing harmful or unethical behaviors by therapists and providers that make people even more reluctant to seek treatment (i.e. therapists taking advantage of patients or engaging in unethical relationships).  If that is part of the storyline, show realistic consequences like the therapist losing their license.

Highlight the Power of Coping Skills and Self-Care

• Model the skills communities can use to support kids’ mental health and wellness on a day to day basis.
  • Just like physical health, mental health care happens every day. Stories often  focus on the difficulties and challenges of serious mental health concerns, but modeling the skills families and communities can use to take care of their mental health and wellness every day can have an even greater positive impact.
  • Parents, coaches, teachers, extended family members and mentors can all play a role in helping kids develop positive mental health skills that may prevent some mental health concerns from developing. Showing those kinds of positive relationships, conversations and skills on screen could help millions of families think about mental health differently.
  • Adult characters can model healthy ways that adults can validate children for how they feel and encourage healthy emotional expression and coping. You can show how to help children initiate, manage and/or stop actions and behaviors sparked by emotions.  For example, a child is angry and is able to pause, notice their feelings and take a break to calm down instead of hitting a peer or sibling.
  • Adult characters can also model healthy expressions of emotion, i.e. sharing about how they had a hard day and what mental health coping skills they’re using (deep breathing, taking a walk, etc.).
• One of the best ways to increase positive behaviors and healthy connections is to promote consistent habits, routines and traditions through your storylines.
  • Have adult characters show intentional child focused time as a way to connect with a child to support their development. Building daily or nighttime routines as well as holiday celebrations helps kids create habits that support their mental health. 
  • Just like emotional awareness and coping starts from infancy, so does building healthy relationships with children. The way adults respond to developmentally normal tantrums and unwanted behaviors is important for keeping the relationship on a healthy track. Having adult characters set expectations, use praise or use consequences appropriately can increase positive behaviors and decrease unwanted behaviors.