A dangerous teen suicide epidemic is sweeping the nation, and no one seems to be talking about it.
Some misguided adults try and downplay the teen depression crisis as simply “teen angst”, but nothing could be further from the truth.
In fact, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, teen suicide is the THIRD leading cause of death for teens ages 10-24, with 4,600 lives lost each year.
That’s 4,600 teenagers who had their entire lives ahead of them but felt the pain was just too great.
But what’s causing teens to take their own lives?
Social media is putting pressure on teens to fit in like never before.
In addition, kids can be cruel, and many are using social media as a way to continue to harass or bully fellow teens even outside of normal school hours.
For some teens, especially those without a strong support system, the pain can just be too much.
And with some adults in the schools not taking the crisis seriously, things are only getting worse.
As a result, tragically even young children are ending their own lives.
One 9-year old was bullied so bad, she took her own life. The mother of the girl said the school knew about the bullying and did nothing.
So, what can we do to help our teens?
To start, make sure you know what’s happening in their schools.
Radical out-of-control teachers are often pushing a leftist political agenda in the classroom, leaving teens confused and even questioning their own “gender”.
Others are pushing a grotesque “sex ed” curriculum which encourages teens to be promiscuous and sexually active.
As a parent, it’s critical to talk with your teen to know what they are being taught in the classroom.
In addition, take the time to talk with your children, and remind them of how much you love them.
When they mess up and make mistakes (and they will) have grace.
If your children learn to know they can trust you, they’ll come to you when they have problems.
And hopefully this means if they’re really feeling down they’ll view you as a safe person to talk with.
But remember, teens are teens.
We were teenagers once too, and we know we didn’t tell our parents everything.
So, while it’s good to give teens privacy, with social media being so out-of-control, make sure to install a filter on their device so you can track what they are viewing.
One app alerted a mom that her previously suicidal teenager was searching for how to take pills to end her life.
Because of this app, the teen’s live was spared
And don’t count on the schools alerting you to what is really going on.
As parents, we must be the ones to spark up conversations with our kids.
Their lives depend on it.