PREMIUM Isolation or withdrawal? How to interpret your teen’s need for alone time Children, like adults, open up more to someone who listens than to someone who lectures. Life & Style Just now Listen

The isolation should be excused if the child still joins family meals and basic routines most of the time, even if reluctantly, and if their sleep, appetite, and hygiene remain normal.

Sometimes a child will open up to an older cousin, a coach, mentor, or a family friend before they will open up to a parent.

In our African context, extended family gathering remains one of the most effective, low-pressure ways to draw a withdrawn child back into connection.