When we ignore problems, they rarely disappear. More often, they wait, gathering power, until one day they arrive at our doorstep with a vengeance. I learned this the hard way when I bought the NLP4Kids head office building 11 years ago.

The Window That Changed Everything

During renovations, we needed to pass wood and equipment out of a back window, so the metal security bars were removed. Every morning, I opened the blinds and reminded myself they were missing. Every morning, I thought “I really must put those bars back on.” But they were ugly, they blocked out light, and I convinced myself it was fine to leave it. Days turned into weeks. Weeks into months.

One night the inevitable happened. The building was burgled, and all of our computers and mobile phones were stolen. The burglars entered through that very window. The one I’d stared at countless times, thinking “I should really do something about that.”

How Long Will You Ignore the Warning Signs?

The truth is, most parents have their own “window without bars.” It might be your child’s backchat, their refusal to listen, their growing anxiety, or their tendency to lash out. You see it, you don’t like it, but you tell yourself you’ll deal with it later.

Later always turns into too late.

Ignoring a behaviour that seems small today can open the door to much larger problems tomorrow. Research by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence shows that 50% of lifetime mental health problems start by the age of 14. Left unchecked, these patterns can solidify into lifelong challenges.

The Cost of Doing Nothing

Maybe your child sulks when asked to do homework. Perhaps they avoid talking about their feelings. These may not cost you anything major right now. But one day, those habits could burst open like that unsecured window: failing grades, friendships destroyed, or a young adult unable to cope with the pressures of life.

It is rarely the single “big incident” that breaks a family, but the quiet accumulation of small moments left unaddressed.

This is why I founded NLP4Kids. Our practitioners, working within our established coaching franchise, are trained to catch these warning signs early and guide children and families towards positive patterns.

Time to Secure the Window

The good news is, you do not have to wait for the equivalent of a burglary to happen in your child’s world. With the right guidance and intervention, you can help them develop resilience, confidence and emotional intelligence before challenges spiral out of control.

Through our children’s coaching franchise, we have transformed thousands of young lives across the UK and beyond. Families often tell us that they wish they had reached out sooner, before things reached breaking point.

If you have noticed habits, words or behaviours in your child that concern you, don’t just open the blinds and sigh each morning. Secure the window now. Take action before the consequences arrive.

by Gemma Bailey (with the help of Ai)

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