Is It Just a Phase, or Do We Need Therapy? A Real Talk Guide for Parents

Intro: Your Kid Might Be Sending You a Memo

Let’s be real: parenting is basically a 24/7 emotional escape room with no bathroom breaks and zero clues. One minute your child is joyfully launching cartwheels in the living room, and the next they’re sobbing uncontrollably because you “breathed wrong” or dared to cut their sandwich into squares instead of triangles.

It’s exhausting. It’s confusing. And if you're reading this while hiding in the laundry room or Googling “Is it normal for my kid to scream like a banshee during math homework?”, we see you.

Here’s the thing—kids are complex little humans. They’re supposed to test boundaries, express big emotions, and experiment with independence. But sometimes those emotional meltdowns, defiant behaviors, or worrying silences aren’t just a quirky phase or sugar crash—they might be signals that your child needs extra support.

At the Murray Center for Behavioral Wellness in Southfield, our job is to help parents decode these behaviors with compassion, expertise, and a dash of humor (because sometimes you have to laugh or you’ll cry). Whether your child is dealing with anxiety, ADHD, emotional regulation challenges, or something that doesn’t fit neatly into a parenting book chapter, we’re here to help you figure it out—before you start Googling "boarding schools with Wi-Fi and no return policy."

Because you're not alone. And you're definitely not a bad parent. You're a parent who cares enough to ask:"Is this something more?"(And we think that’s pretty heroic.)