--- title: "YMHC Not Okay at School: Parent Peer Support Group" description: "A private peer support community hosted by Youth Mental Health Canada for parents, caregivers, and families supporting children and youth experiencing school attendance challenges." url: https://ymhc.ngo/programs/parent-peer-support-group/ --- ![Not Okay at School: Parent Peer Support Group, on a classroom chalkboard](https://ymhc.ngo/_astro/not-okay-at-school-parent-peer-support.0PZSndIn_ZsJmez.webp) # YMHC Not Okay at School: Parent Peer Support Group This is a private peer support community hosted by Youth Mental Health Canada (YMHC) for parents, caregivers, and families supporting children and youth who are experiencing school attendance challenges, school avoidance, school distress, or barriers to education and learning. This group provides a compassionate, non-judgmental space where families can connect with others who understand the challenges of supporting a child who is struggling to attend school. Members are encouraged to share experiences, ask questions, exchange practical strategies, and support one another while recognizing that every child's situation is unique. [Join the Group](https://ymhc.ngo/programs/parent-peer-support-group/join/) [Read the group guidelines](https://ymhc.ngo/programs/parent-peer-support-group/#guidelines) ## Our Philosophy: Not Okay at School At YMHC, we recognize that many students are not okay at school for reasons that extend far beyond simply not wanting to attend. Attendance challenges are a signal that a student's needs are not being met. School attendance challenges can arise from many interconnected factors, including: - Mental health challenges - Neurodevelopmental differences - Learning disabilities - Trauma and adverse experiences - Bullying and discrimination - Physical health concerns - Family and social stressors - School climate and belonging - Systemic barriers to accessing support Rather than asking, "Why won't they go to school?", we encourage families, educators, and professionals to ask: > "What is making school difficult for this student, and how can we work together to help?" We believe that students do well when they have the support, accommodations, relationships, and environments they need to succeed. - ### Our Mission The YMHC Not Okay at School Parent Peer Support Group aims to: - Provide hope, encouragement, and connection for parents and caregivers. - Reduce isolation by connecting families with shared lived experiences. - Promote compassionate, evidence-informed approaches to school attendance challenges. - Share practical resources that support student mental health, well-being, and school engagement. - Encourage collaboration between families, schools, healthcare providers, and community organizations. - Advocate for inclusive, equitable, and supportive educational environments where every student feels safe, valued, and able to learn. - ### Our Values We believe: - Every child deserves access to an education where they feel safe, respected, included, and supported. - Attendance challenges are best understood through curiosity, compassion, and collaboration—not blame or punishment. - Parents and caregivers are experts on their own children and are valued partners in finding solutions. - Lived experience is an important source of knowledge. - Mental health, belonging, and relationships are essential foundations for learning. - Supporting the whole child leads to better educational and wellness outcomes. ## Group Guidelines Welcome to the YMHC Not Okay at School: Parent Peer Support Group. This is a private, supportive community for parents, caregivers, and families of children and youth experiencing school attendance challenges, school distress, school avoidance, or barriers to education and learning. This group exists to provide connection, encouragement, and shared understanding through lived experience. We recognize that every family's journey is unique, and we are committed to creating a safe, respectful, and compassionate environment for everyone. This community is built on kindness, empathy, and respect. 1. ### Our Community Values At YMHC, we believe: - Every child deserves to feel safe, welcomed, included, and supported at school. - School attendance challenges are a sign that a student is struggling, not simply unwilling to attend. - Families are experts on their own children and are valuable partners in finding solutions. - Compassion, curiosity, and collaboration lead to better outcomes than blame or punishment. - Lived experience has an important place alongside professional knowledge. - Supporting student and family well-being is essential to improving school engagement. 2. ### This Is a Peer Support Community This group is facilitated by Youth Mental Health Canada and moderated by individuals with lived and learned experience. Our moderators and members are not providing medical, legal, psychological, or educational advice through this group. Please participate as a parent, caregiver, or family member rather than in a professional role. While professionals are welcome if they are supporting their own child, this space is intended for peer support—not professional consultation. If you have concerns about your child's health, safety, or educational needs, please seek guidance from qualified professionals. 3. ### Take Care of Yourself Supporting a child experiencing school attendance challenges can be emotionally exhausting. Please remember to: - Take breaks from the group when needed. - Protect your own mental health. - Be patient with yourself. - Recognize that every family is at a different stage of their journey. - Offer support with kindness and understanding. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. 4. ### Privacy and Confidentiality To help keep this community safe, please do not: - Share photographs or videos of children. - Share screenshots of private conversations or messages. - Share confidential school correspondence without removing identifying information. - Copy or repost content from this group outside of the community. - Contact members privately unless they have clearly invited you to do so. If you choose to share documents such as school reports, Individual Education Plans (IEPs), emails, or assessments, please remove all identifying information, including names of students, staff members, schools, school boards, and communities. 5. ### Keep Children Safe YMHC does not support or allow posts that promote practices that may cause physical, emotional, or psychological harm to children or youth. Posts encouraging harmful or punitive approaches—including intimidation, humiliation, coercion, threats, physical force, excessive punishment, isolation, or other unsafe practices—will be removed. We encourage approaches that prioritize: - Student well-being - Emotional safety - Collaborative problem-solving - Relationship building - Trauma-informed and neurodiversity-affirming practices - Long-term engagement over short-term compliance 6. ### No Advertising or Self-Promotion This group is intended for peer support. Please do not: - Advertise businesses or services. - Promote products or programs. - Recruit clients. - Fundraise without administrator approval. - Share promotional content unrelated to the purpose of this community. Members are welcome to recommend resources that have personally helped their family by sharing their own experience. For example: - "What helped our family was..." - "In our experience..." - "One resource we found helpful was..." When sharing articles, books, videos, podcasts, or websites, please include a brief explanation of why you found the resource valuable. 7. ### Respectful Communication Everyone deserves to feel safe participating in this community. Please: - Speak respectfully to and about others. - Assume positive intentions. - Recognize that families may make different choices based on their circumstances. - Avoid judgment, criticism, or personal attacks. - Use inclusive and compassionate language. Posts or comments containing harassment, discrimination, hate speech, bullying, or offensive language will be removed. 8. ### Protect Privacy To reduce legal and privacy concerns, please do not identify: - Schools - School boards - Teachers - Principals - Educational assistants - Healthcare providers - Other professionals - Students or families You are encouraged to describe your experience without including identifying details. 9. ### Trigger Warnings Some discussions may involve difficult topics related to mental health, trauma, bullying, self-harm, grief, or other sensitive experiences. When posting about potentially distressing subjects, please begin your post with Trigger Warning (TW) so members can make informed choices about whether and when to engage. Please avoid posting graphic descriptions or distressing images. Thank you for helping create a respectful, compassionate, and supportive community. Together, we can reduce isolation, share hope, learn from one another, and support families navigating school attendance challenges. ## Crisis Support This Facebook group is not a crisis service and is not monitored as one. If you or your child is experiencing an emergency or is at immediate risk of harm, call 911 or your local emergency services, or go to your nearest emergency department. If you are in Canada and need immediate mental health support, contact 988: Suicide Crisis Helpline by calling or texting 988, available 24 hours a day. [Find crisis lines across Canada](https://crisis.ymhc.ngo/) ## Important Disclaimer The administrators and moderators of this group include individuals with lived and learned experience. Discussions within this group are intended for peer support and educational purposes only and should not be considered medical, psychological, or legal advice. If you have concerns about your child's physical or mental health, please seek support from a qualified healthcare professional. ## Join the Group Together, we can support one another and help ensure that no family faces school attendance challenges alone. Questions? Get in touch via email at admin@ymhc.ngo. [Join the Group](https://ymhc.ngo/programs/parent-peer-support-group/join/) [Email admin@ymhc.ngo](mailto:admin@ymhc.ngo)