General

The YoungMinds Share your Story message boards are for any parent, carer or relative who is concerned about their child's emotional problems or behaviour.

This service is separate from the YoungMinds Parents helpline, so if you are looking for professional advice, please contact us on 0808 802 5544 or email parents@youngminds.org.uk

We aim to provide a safe and supportive space for parents and carers to share their experiences, support each other, and exchange tips on what has worked for them. Please keep your posts relevant to issues around parenting a child with emotional, behavioural or mental health problems.

All families are different and while it is useful to share what has helped for you, please respect others' feelings. Don't make statements about what other families should or should not do, or make judgements about them or actions they have taken.

While we would encourage you to share both positive and negative experiences, please do not name specific people or organisations on the forum as doing so could mean you personally are liable to legal action. YoungMinds has the right to remove or edit your post if it does not comply with this guideline.

Please protect yourself when posting, and do not post your personal details such as phone numbers or addresses on the message boards. As users who register with YoungMinds are only asked for a user name and email address, we are not able to verify who they are and it is therefore safest to maintain your privacy.

Posting etiquette

Please try and keep your posts easy for everyone to read. This includes not writing whole posts in capital letters, or using ‘text speak'. Using punctuation will help make your meaning clear, as large blocks of text can be hard to understand.

When writing and reading posts, please also bear in mind that tone can be hard to ‘read' on message boards, and it can be easy to misinterpret what others have posted. Smileys and other emoticons can help underline the tone you are aiming for.

Swear words and inappropriate or offensive language are not tolerated on the Parents Forum. YoungMinds has placed a block on swear words on the message boards. Any use of inappropriate language will result in the post being edited or removed and the author banned from the forum.

Please do not post any comments which are abusive or offensive. This includes discrimination against any person based on their ethnic background, age, gender, religion, class, culture, disability, health condition or sexual orientation. Any post which is offensive, abusive or discriminatory will be removed and the author will be banned from the forum.

Please do not use the message boards to advertise any products, services or organisations, or for fundraising, as any posts which appear to be advertising will be removed.

DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed on the YoungMinds message boards are those of the author and not necessarily of YoungMinds.

Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy

Please also take a moment to read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy on our main site (external links).