Purposeful Visions asks an important question: What is happening to our children? Supporting today’s youth requires parents, teachers, pastors, counselors, mentors, and community leaders working together to address emotional wellness, generational challenges, and the needs of the next generation. It takes a village—and the village still matters.
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What Is Happening to Our Children?
What Is Happening to Our Children?
Understanding the Emotional and Mental Health Challenges Facing Today’s Youth
Understanding the Emotional and Mental Health Challenges Facing Today’s Youth
By Delynn Turner | Purposeful Visions
Estimated reading time: 7–9 minutes
There are moments when I look at what is happening with our children and have to turn away from social media.
Not because I don't care.
Because I care too much.
Another child hurting.
Another young person angry.
Another parent grieving.
Another fight recorded instead of stopped.
Another classroom disrupted.
Another young person struggling with anxiety, depression, loneliness, anger, fear—or emotions they don't yet have the words to explain.
And underneath the comments, arguments and blame, I keep coming back to one question:
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What is happening to our children?
What is happening to our children?
But lately, I've realized that may not be the question we should be asking.
Maybe the better question is:
What is happening AROUND our children—and what do they need from us?
What is happening AROUND our children—and what do they need from us?
Because children do not grow up in isolation.
They grow up inside families.
Inside schools.
Inside neighborhoods.
Inside churches.
Inside communities.
And now, inside a digital world that follows them everywhere.
So before we label this generation as disrespectful, lazy, angry, entitled, troubled or lost, perhaps we need to understand what they are carrying.
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Our Children Are Carrying More Than We Can See
Our Children Are Carrying More Than We Can See
A child can be hurting and still go to school.
A teenager can be anxious and still laugh with friends.
A young person can be grieving and still post a smiling picture online.
A child can be surrounded by people and still feel completely alone.
That's one of the most difficult things about emotional pain:
You cannot always see it.
Sometimes it looks like anger.
Sometimes it looks like disrespect.
Sometimes it looks like withdrawal.
Sometimes it looks like failing grades.
Sometimes it looks like sleeping all day.
Sometimes it looks like not sleeping at all.
Sometimes it looks like the child who says:
“I'm fine.”
And everybody believes them.
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Children's Mental Health Is Not Just a “Child Problem
Children's Mental Health Is Not Just a “Child Problem
When a young person is struggling emotionally, we naturally focus on the child.
But children exist within systems.
Their emotional health can be influenced by relationships at home, school experiences, bullying, violence, instability, grief, trauma, social isolation, family stress and many other factors.
That's why supporting youth mental health cannot belong to only one person.
Not just the parent.
Not just the teacher.
Not just the school counselor.
Not just the therapist.
Not just the pastor.
The village has to come back into the conversation.
The village has to come back into the conversation.
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Parents, We Need You
Parents, We Need You
Parenting has never been easy.
And today's parents are trying to raise children while often dealing with their own financial pressures, work responsibilities, relationship challenges, grief, trauma and exhaustion.
Some parents are trying to give their children something they themselves never received.
Safety.
Affection.
Consistency.
Communication.
Emotional support.
That's difficult work.
But our children still need us to show up.
Not perfectly.
Presently.
They need boundaries.
They need consequences.
They need affection.
They need someone who knows where they are.
They need adults who listen without immediately turning every conversation into a lecture.
They need to know that making a mistake doesn't make them a mistake.
And sometimes they need a parent willing to say:
“I don't know how to help you with this, but we're going to find someone who does.”
That is not parental failure.
That is parenting.
Teachers, We See You
Teachers, We See You
Teachers are being asked to do more than teach.
Sometimes you're the first adult who notices that something has changed.
The student who suddenly stops participating.
The child whose grades begin falling.
The teenager who becomes unusually angry.
The student who keeps falling asleep.
The child who suddenly stops sitting with friends.
You may not know what's happening at home.
You may not know what happened the night before.
And you cannot be expected to solve every problem a child brings into the classroom.
But sometimes one caring adult asking,
“Are you okay?”
“Are you okay?”
can open a door that child desperately needed someone to open.
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Pastors and Faith Leaders, We Need You Too
Pastors and Faith Leaders, We Need You Too
For many families, the church has historically been more than a place of worship.
It has been community.
Mentorship.
Support.
Food.
Guidance.
Family.
Safety.
Our young people still need spaces where faith and emotional wellness can coexist.
A struggling child should never have to choose between prayer and professional support.
We can pray.
We can encourage.
We can listen.
We can mentor.
And when necessary, we can also help families connect with trained mental-health professionals.
There is room for both faith and help.
Counselors and Mental-Health Professionals, Please Keep Showing Up
Counselors and Mental-Health Professionals, Please Keep Showing Up
Some children will tell you things they have never told anyone else.
Some will sit silently.
Some will resist.
Some will say they're only there because their mother made them come.
And some may not even understand why they feel the way they do.
That safe space matters.
Our children need adults who can help them develop language for emotions they may have been taught to suppress.
They need to learn:
I can be angry without hurting someone.
I can be sad without being ashamed.
I can ask for help without being weak.
I can experience something painful without allowing it to define my entire future.
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Mentors, Coaches and Community Leaders: You Matter More Than You Know
Mentors, Coaches and Community Leaders: You Matter More Than You Know
Sometimes the person who changes a child's life doesn't share their last name.
It's the coach who refuses to give up on them.
The neighbor who checks in.
The barber who gives advice during a haircut.
The mentor who keeps calling.
The youth leader who recognizes potential beneath the attitude.
The community volunteer who remembers their name.
Never underestimate what consistent adult presence can mean to a young person.
You may be the person who sees something in them before they can see it in themselves.
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And Then There Is Social Media
And Then There Is Social Media
Our children are growing up in a world previous generations never had to navigate.
Their mistakes can be recorded.
Their embarrassment can become content.
Their arguments can become entertainment.
Their appearance can be judged by strangers.
Their popularity can seemingly be measured by numbers on a screen.
And comparison is available 24 hours a day.
Social media can provide community, education and creativity.
But it can also amplify bullying, comparison, conflict and unrealistic expectations.
That means our conversations with young people cannot simply be:
“Put that phone down.”
We need to ask:
What are you seeing?
Who are you talking to?
How does being online make you feel?
What happens when you log off?
Digital supervision has become part of parenting.
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Today’s children are navigating emotional pressures that previous generations could never have imagined. Supporting their mental wellness requires more than one parent, teacher, counselor, pastor, or mentor—it takes a village willing to listen, guide, support, and show up. 💜 Stronger children begin with stronger communities.
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Before We Ask What's Wrong With Them, Let's Look at What We've Handed Them
Before We Ask What's Wrong With Them, Let's Look at What We've Handed Them
This is where the conversation becomes uncomfortable.
Because helping the next generation also requires adults to examine ourselves.
What behaviors have we normalized?
What pain have we never addressed?
What communication patterns have we passed down?
What did we learn about anger?
About love?
About discipline?
About relationships?
About asking for help?
About mental health?
About money?
About conflict?
About self-worth?
Children learn from what adults teach.
But they also learn from what adults model.
And sometimes breaking a generational cycle begins with an adult having the courage to say:
“This happened to me—but I refuse to hand it to you.”
“This happened to me—but I refuse to hand it to you.”
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We Cannot Heal What We Refuse to Name
We Cannot Heal What We Refuse to Name
Talking about generational trauma is not about blaming parents or grandparents.
Accountability and compassion can exist in the same conversation.
We can recognize that previous generations survived circumstances we may never fully understand while also recognizing that survival patterns don't always belong in the next generation.
Some things protected us once.
That doesn't mean we have to carry them forever.
Healing asks us to examine what should continue—and what should end with us.
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What Do Our Children Need From Us?
What Do Our Children Need From Us?
They need adults who are willing to listen.
They need boundaries and consistency.
They need emotional safety.
They need accountability without humiliation.
They need positive role models.
They need spaces where asking for help is normal.
They need adults willing to apologize when we're wrong.
They need communities willing to intervene before a crisis becomes a tragedy.
And above all:
They need us to stop arguing about who failed them long enough to start asking how we're going to help them.
They need us to stop arguing about who failed them long enough to start asking how we're going to help them.
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The Generation We Cannot Afford to Lose
The Generation We Cannot Afford to Lose
These questions are at the heart of my upcoming book, The Generation We Cannot Afford to Lose.
I didn't write this book because I believe our children are hopeless.
Quite the opposite.
I wrote it because I believe they are worth fighting for.
This isn't about attacking one generation.
It's about families.
It's about accountability.
It's about generational patterns.
It's about the village.
It's about healing.
And it's about asking ourselves a difficult question:
What are we handing the generation coming behind us—our healing or our hurt?
What are we handing the generation coming behind us—our healing or our hurt?
📖 The Generation We Cannot Afford to Lose by Delynn Turner — Coming Soon to Amazon.
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What Can We Do Today?
What Can We Do Today?
We don't have to solve an entire generation's problems tonight.
Start with one child.
Have dinner without the phones.
Ask a question—and actually listen to the answer.
Check on the quiet child.
Talk to the teacher.
Attend the school meeting.
Call the counselor.
Support the overwhelmed parent.
Mentor a teenager.
Invite a young person into a safe community activity.
Tell a child:
“You matter.”
Then behave in a way that proves you meant it.
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A Question for the Village
A Question for the Village
Parents. Teachers. Pastors. Counselors. Mentors. Coaches. Grandparents. Community leaders.
I want to hear from you.
What do you believe today's children need most from the adults around them?
What do you believe today's children need most from the adults around them?
Let's stop talking about this generation long enough to start talking with each other about how to protect it.
Because this is one generation...
we simply cannot afford to lose.
we simply cannot afford to lose.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What are signs that a child may be struggling emotionally?
Changes in mood, sleep, appetite, school performance, friendships, behavior or normal activities can sometimes indicate that a young person needs additional support. One behavior alone doesn't necessarily indicate a mental-health condition, but significant or persistent changes deserve attention.
How can parents support a child's mental health?
Create opportunities for honest conversation, listen without immediately judging, establish consistent routines and boundaries, stay involved in the child's offline and online life, and seek professional support when concerns exceed what the family can manage alone.
Can schools and teachers help with youth mental health?
Teachers and school staff can be important members of a child's support network because they may notice changes in behavior, attendance, academic performance or peer relationships. Schools may also provide access to counselors and other support resources.
What role can churches and community organizations play?
Faith and community organizations can provide mentoring, belonging, family support, youth programming and connections to additional services. They should also recognize when a young person needs care from a qualified mental-health professional.
What is generational trauma?
Generational trauma generally describes the ways the effects of traumatic experiences and chronic adversity can influence families across generations. Healing can include recognizing recurring patterns, improving communication, building healthier relationships and seeking appropriate support.
Purposeful Visions
Purposeful Visions
Purposeful Visions supports individuals, families and communities through conversations and resources surrounding grief, trauma, emotional wellness, parenting, youth development and generational healing.
Heal. Grow. Belong. Thrive.
If a young person is experiencing a mental-health crisis or is in immediate danger, seek appropriate emergency or crisis support immediately.
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