SHOULD WE NOTIFY THE PARENTS?
Why should schools and therapist notify parents about their children being even the slightest bit suicidal? Well, shouldn’t that be obvious? If you say yes, then this might be shocking news, but some people don’t think that a child having suicidal thoughts is a problem. They think that it’s just a phase and it’ll go away after a few days or weeks. Well, it’s not. Suicide is a serious issue for teens, a lot more teens are committing now a days. Almost every teen has at least one form of depression, whether it’s serious or not it’s still depression. Depression is the number one reason people commit suicide.
Suicide is the third-leading cause of death for young people between 15 and 24--more males than females--and accounts for almost 4,500 lives lost every year in this country. Scientists believe that more teenagers and young adults die of suicide in a year than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease combined. Here’s an example for what could and did happen when parents aren’t notified, Jared’s girlfriend knew about him being suicidal and she didn’t tell anyone. A couple of months after they broke up Jared committed suicide in a park near his home.
"I couldn't save Jared," says his mother," her voice cracking. "That pain will be with me forever. But maybe I can save somebody else." (Hochman, Gloria. "A Plague on the Young." Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA). 07 Jun 2010: D.1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 05 Oct 2012.)
Isable Teotonio wrote an article in 2012 called Suicide Rates Spike Among Teenage Girls, and she says, “We want to empower kids to reach out and seek help, both for themselves and on behalf of their friends. Help is always available and things can change the issue with suicide is that it’s the final act.” A lot of the suicidal teens could be helped it’s just the fact that they refuse to go and find help. They wish for someone to “save them” it’s just that since they hide it so well nobody knows that they need to be saved. Some of the “happiest” kids are the ones who are suffering the most. (Teotonio, Isabel. "Suicide Rates Spike Among Teenage Girls." Toronto Star. 03 Apr 2012: E.1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 05 Oct 2012.)
Suicide is the third-leading cause of death for young people between 15 and 24--more males than females--and accounts for almost 4,500 lives lost every year in this country. Scientists believe that more teenagers and young adults die of suicide in a year than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease combined. Here’s an example for what could and did happen when parents aren’t notified, Jared’s girlfriend knew about him being suicidal and she didn’t tell anyone. A couple of months after they broke up Jared committed suicide in a park near his home.
"I couldn't save Jared," says his mother," her voice cracking. "That pain will be with me forever. But maybe I can save somebody else." (Hochman, Gloria. "A Plague on the Young." Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA). 07 Jun 2010: D.1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 05 Oct 2012.)
Isable Teotonio wrote an article in 2012 called Suicide Rates Spike Among Teenage Girls, and she says, “We want to empower kids to reach out and seek help, both for themselves and on behalf of their friends. Help is always available and things can change the issue with suicide is that it’s the final act.” A lot of the suicidal teens could be helped it’s just the fact that they refuse to go and find help. They wish for someone to “save them” it’s just that since they hide it so well nobody knows that they need to be saved. Some of the “happiest” kids are the ones who are suffering the most. (Teotonio, Isabel. "Suicide Rates Spike Among Teenage Girls." Toronto Star. 03 Apr 2012: E.1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 05 Oct 2012.)
Another example of what could/did happen when the parents weren’t notified about their suicidal children. "One November day in 2007, an e-mail arrived at the Virginia Tech health center warning that a 21-year-old senior named Daniel Kim might be suicidal.Within weeks, Kim was dead. And only then did his parents learn of the e-mail. Four years later, the university has reached a legal settlement with the Kim family that requires school officials to notify parents or guardians when a student is suicidal.... Few colleges have policies that explicitly require someone to contact the parents of a suicidal student, according to experts on student affairs and collegiate law." (Vise, Daniel de. "College Suicide Leads to New Alert." Washington Post. 15 Dec 2011: B.1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 05 Oct 2012.)
Some schools think that the teachers should be the ones who notify the parents since they spend about 6 hours a day with the kids. It’s true that teachers spend a lot of time with the students but they are not certified to diagnose a child with depression or any other mental health issue. They could however if they feel that the child is struggling contact the parents and ask them to get the children tested. The only problem with that is that most kids when they think about getting “tested” for something, they think of all the crazy people from all the T.V shows they probably watch and they take offence from it. Only a few kids would actually accept the help, most would yell at their parents and teachers telling them to get out of their business, even if they want the help. Most kids just feel like they need to hide everything because they want help but cannot find the words to cry out for it. It’s horrible that this is true, but if you don’t reach out your hand first the kids will just reject you when it’s to late.
I believe that parents should be notified if anyone suspects that their children are suicidal but it's not always obvious. People will always do as they please no matter what, but it would be a huge help if people would watch out for it. They don't have to be asking every single child how they're feeling, however they could just look and see if there is any change in behavior or change in eating habits. The earlier they notice the more likely the children will listen and want help.
Some schools think that the teachers should be the ones who notify the parents since they spend about 6 hours a day with the kids. It’s true that teachers spend a lot of time with the students but they are not certified to diagnose a child with depression or any other mental health issue. They could however if they feel that the child is struggling contact the parents and ask them to get the children tested. The only problem with that is that most kids when they think about getting “tested” for something, they think of all the crazy people from all the T.V shows they probably watch and they take offence from it. Only a few kids would actually accept the help, most would yell at their parents and teachers telling them to get out of their business, even if they want the help. Most kids just feel like they need to hide everything because they want help but cannot find the words to cry out for it. It’s horrible that this is true, but if you don’t reach out your hand first the kids will just reject you when it’s to late.
I believe that parents should be notified if anyone suspects that their children are suicidal but it's not always obvious. People will always do as they please no matter what, but it would be a huge help if people would watch out for it. They don't have to be asking every single child how they're feeling, however they could just look and see if there is any change in behavior or change in eating habits. The earlier they notice the more likely the children will listen and want help.
A few good ways to figure out if a child is suicidal is if they: Cut themselves, they stop eating, they lay in bed all day, their grades in school change dramatically. Either they’ll go way up or they’ll drop down to F’s and D’s. Some teenagers when they become depressed they spend all of their time working on schoolwork so they can avoid talking to friends and family. Other ways to find out if children are suicidal if the signs aren’t as obvious since when kids start cutting they try their hardest to hide it under clothes and bracelets, is if they just start to avoid talking to their friends and they go and find a completely different group of people to hang around. Also, if they start to spend a lot more time on the Internet, they possibly are “torturing” themselves by reading all of the comments that could be coming from people online, or they’re just avoiding conversation by procrastinating online. These are only a few different ways kids might show that they're depressed/suicidal, some kids might not show any signs at all and it'll just be to late. It's not possible for the world to save every single person from destroying him or herself but we can save a lot more than not if we just try.
I hope that this page has opened the eyes to so many people. Suicide is a very serious topic, and there’s no avoiding it in this big media crazed world. I mean with teens/kids that have access to the internet they are exposed to so much more hate and many more “idealist” that could “teach” them new ways to deal with they’re problems.
I hope that this page has opened the eyes to so many people. Suicide is a very serious topic, and there’s no avoiding it in this big media crazed world. I mean with teens/kids that have access to the internet they are exposed to so much more hate and many more “idealist” that could “teach” them new ways to deal with they’re problems.
Pictures? Sure, why not?
Pill bottles, pills spelling out depressed. Many people do this before they overdose to show the people who find them that they really were depressed.
Hanging.
Hanging is a very popular way to go even though it's "old fashioned" and a painful way to go. Most people use belts or clothing if they cannot find the proper rope.
A Quote
"People do not die from suicide; they die from sadness." -Anonymous.
Is it overlooked?
"Cutting is underrated, overlooked and mocked. What people need to learn is that self-harm is a problem that needs to be solved, not a fashion statement, phase, or joke of any kind."
Teens joke around about suicide and self-harming and it's not a joke. It's serious. There's nothing funny about losing someone because they were being destroyed by their own monsters in their head.
Teens joke around about suicide and self-harming and it's not a joke. It's serious. There's nothing funny about losing someone because they were being destroyed by their own monsters in their head.
"Scars are stories, history written on the body." Very true. When teens get depressed they usually do the standard cutting that they see on T.V. and such. Some burn themselves while others find some other means of torturing themselves.
"She paints a pretty picture but this picture has a twist
you see.. her paintbrush is a razor
and her canvas is her wrist
she paints her pretty picture
in a color thats blood red
while using her sharp painbrush
she ends up finally dead
her pretty pictures fading
quite slowly on her arm
the blood is not racing through her
she can no longer do harm
she painted her pretty picture
but her picture had a twist
you see her mind was the razor
and her heart was just her wrist."
"She paints a pretty picture but this picture has a twist
you see.. her paintbrush is a razor
and her canvas is her wrist
she paints her pretty picture
in a color thats blood red
while using her sharp painbrush
she ends up finally dead
her pretty pictures fading
quite slowly on her arm
the blood is not racing through her
she can no longer do harm
she painted her pretty picture
but her picture had a twist
you see her mind was the razor
and her heart was just her wrist."
Lies
People tell you to be yourself and yet once you're brave enough to be yourself they judge you. Whether they're your friend or not, people will always judge each other It's just it all just depends on whether they feel the need to broadcast their thoughts to the world or not. If they do, you might get hurt. If they don't everything is fine.
Summary: This webpage is intended to help show people that notifying children's parents about them being suicidal is something that they need to do. It could save their lives and so many more "copy-cats" that may decide to commit suicide because of the one child. Suicide is a serious topic, and something we cannot avoid in this media crazed world.
Contributors: Mandy Robinson
Last Updated: October 15th, 2012
Contributors: Mandy Robinson
Last Updated: October 15th, 2012