[newnhdad]

Thanks you and to all who made recommendations. The outside activities stopped about two years ago when the scouts and church groups transitioned from elementary age to older kids. A lot of the friends made the transition okay but not my child. I felt helpless when I was working 16 hours and not driving to the meetings and participating in the activities myself.
At first, I figured hormones, growth spurts, normal teenaged stuff but this has been different than most of my friends have experienced with their kids. My wife has been near useless lately, I personally think she emotionally checked out once she got an ear full a few weeks ago.

[Joachim]

Google “Hardy nutritionals.” Helpful for some people.

[Wuli]

“Thanks you and to all who made recommendations. The outside activities stopped about two years ago when the scouts and church groups transitioned from elementary age to older kids. A lot of the friends made the transition okay but not my child.”

One word jumps out to me with that - insecurity.

I'm making a wild guess, but possibly something - emotionally, physically, mentally - your child, entering puberty by chronological age, may have some/an insecurities/insecurity, about their own level of maturity at this point compared to their peers.

IF - a giant IF that has anything to do with it, the facts of THAT situation is normal; some are ready/mature sooner, and some later, but as the years go on the “slower” ones in the majority of cases do “catch up”. Any kid who has issues with that must be told that. Some “early bloomers” are even occasionally surpassed by some late bloomers, in some manner of maturity, somewhere between 12-13 and when most everyone has become an adult. I was an early bloomer in some ways, and much later bloomer in others. As others began to "catch up" to me, some went passed me, before we all seemed to even out by college. Somehow, someone has to sit with the kid and try to get to the root, and it may not even be what any initial angry words from the child indicate. Some "reasons" may be just the surface reasons and not the one(s) underneath it all. Hopefully, someone can get them to truly open up. Our prayers to you and your family.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

I felt helpless when I was working 16 hours

And that may be at the root of the issue - a cry for the attention you were not giving... Think about it.

[SaraJohnson]

Your wife may need counseling, too. Sounds like being ‘checked out” is not such a good thing given the situation. What did you decide to do. If she is hospitalized I want to know so I can focus on healing and protection prayer for her. I’ll be praying for your wife, too.

Anyway, best wishes. I hope everything turns out better quickly.

Sara