Background: I have a very close relationship with my sister (consider her one of my two best friends). We get along extremely well, and are alike in many regards, perhaps with the exception of parenting. We both have two boys, of similar age.
My sister has regularly asked for advice on her 13 year old son. . . he is obese, has limited impulse control, struggles with social encounters, has no friends, gets very frustrated/angry over small issues, is very defensive, and always feels like the world is against him. (I observe this, but this matches the observation of everyone in my family, including my sister.) His only "activity" is gaming, and he games (when I'm around, don't know what he's like on a standard day) for 4-6 hours/day.
On the plus side, he's very smart, and when engaged, has a very kind heart for those he cares about.
My sister is very worried, and had hoped this was a phase that would work itself out. I am, by no stretch of the imagination, an expert on child rearing or a therapist, but feel the challenges need professional help. When she's asked for my help in the past, it's been framed as a question like, "How do you handle it when your child doesn't want to stop doing an activity?" Or, do you think meditation would help (her child) deal with his emotions better? It's never a broad, open ended question about what I would do in her situation. She expressed her concern again last weekend, and tossed out a couple of ideas for my input. (Meditation, friend related stuff, etc).
I love my sister, and want the best for her & my nephew. However, I most definitely do not want to offend or over step, or hurt our relationship. I'm wondering if I should even remotely consider suggesting a therapist, or discussing with his pediatrician. If you think this is appropriate, is there wording that you would use/want used that would be least likely to offend?