Teen Suicide: Why You Should Talk To Your Teen Today

   By drodriguez  May 10, 2011
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We recently heard the tragic news about two 14-year-old girls who carried out a suicide pact at a sleepover.  Parents of the girls say their daughters were victims of cyberbullying and depression.
 
When parents receive devastating news like this their first instinct may be to shield their children from hearing about it. But a recent report from the Today show discusses how it is a good idea to allow your kids to hear about this story while opening up a dialogue about teen suicide.

Psychologist and parenting expert, Michele Borba, offers a few tips on how to approach this difficult subject with your kids.  The first thing you should do is make sure you and your child have the facts straight. When kids hear things at school or at a friend’s house the details become skewed or exaggerated.

Some more tips are to talk to your teens about depression and how it is a treatable medical disorder. Also, discuss bullying with your child and how important it is tell an adult if you ever feel that a friend may cause harm to themselves or someone else.  Perhaps Borba’s most important piece of advice for parents is to let their teens know that, “No problem is so great that it can’t be solved.”

For a complete list of Borba’s tips please visit http://moms.today.com/_news/2011/04/25/6530833-how-to-protect-your-children-from-sad-news-about-teen-suicide-dont

What do you think of the tips above that advise parents on how to talk about this difficult topic?

How do you talk to your kids about tragic news and topics like this?

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romonna80 by romonna80 | OLEAN, NY
May 12, 2011

Talking things through may also give the person an opportunity to consider other solutions to problems. Most of the time, people who are considering suicide are willing to talk if someone asks them out of concern and care. ...