Talk to your kids...

[Mike Smith]

I see how touched many people become about a single teenage suicide, then shake my head as some many of these same people are willing to fight like animals to protect abortion rights.

While I have the same view as you, this isn't the proper thread to hash that out.

To piggyback what others are saying, you have to start early and continue an ongoing conversation with your kids to a) gain some trust and credibility and b) have the baseline to know when "something aint right". Then you dig deeper.

 

[cessna182b]

The reason teen suicides usually dont go on the local news is that in the past there have been entire series of suicides in a community after an initial one reported in the news. Papers that employ actual journalists usually refrain from reporting youth suicides. Of course nowadays with that kind of information spreading via twitter and facebook in minutes, that is a bit of a moot point.

I have long felt that by sensationalizing bad things, the media provokes copycat episodes. On the other hand, who is entitled to decide to withhold legitimate news? By omitting selected material, does your local rag earn the title "The News-Suppress"? Does the public have a "Right to Know Everything"? Troubling questions - and I will be the first to acknowledge that I don't know the answers.

Dave

 

[Lndwarrior]

It's bad. I don't know if it's epidemic levels, but it is fairly common. The problem is that too many people think "it can't happen to my kids" and try to deny it. It might not be serious on a statistic level, but for someone near the edge it might be life or death.

I can't stress this enough:
*If your kid mentions suicide... talk to them
*If your kid mentions "not wanting to live anymore"... talk to them
*If you think it is just attention-seeking behavior... there's a reason; talk to them

And for the love of all that is holy...If your kid comes to you about suicidal thoughts or desiring "passive" suicide- don't laugh it off. Talk to them, get them out doing stuff, whatever, but never disregard it or trivialize it. There doesn't need to be an actual suicide attempt for there to be actual harm.

I had a good friend who came to me one night and started talking about how bad the world was and it made him wonder if it was worth living. I said some placating words and walked away. The next day he killed himself.

You are so right. I made myself a promise after this to never let these type of comments pass without talking to the person about it right then and there. I learned this too late for my friend.

 

[Matthew]

I have long felt that by sensationalizing bad things, the media provokes copycat episodes. On the other hand, who is entitled to decide to withhold legitimate news? By omitting selected material, does your local rag earn the title "The News-Suppress"? Does the public have a "Right to Know Everything"? Troubling questions - and I will be the first to acknowledge that I don't know the answers.

Dave

The Kansas City Star has been reporting on the two suicides and the memorial services. I think they pretty much had to, once it became public when the school made an announcement to the students on Monday. It has not mentioned the names of the girls, but it isn't hard to look at the obit page and figure it out for yourself. I haven't started seeing the local high school kids with the "RIP xxx" signs painted on their windows yet, but that'll come soon enough.

I wasn't able to find an official policy of how that paper handles it, but this is as close as I could get. It involved reporting on Robin Williams' death:

>>
"Nobody expects journalists to write about private individuals’ deaths from heart disease or accidents in the home, and a suicide is really no different. Unless it happens in an especially public place or there is some highly unusual element that elevates it to a public concern, it isn’t news."
<<

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/public-editor/article1233754.html#storylink=cpy​

http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/public-editor/article1233754.html

 

[SixPapaCharlie]

I had a good friend who came to me one night and started talking about how bad the world was and it made him wonder if it was worth living. I said some placating words and walked away. The next day he killed himself.

You are so right. I made myself a promise after this to never let these type of comments pass without talking to the person about it right then and there. I learned this too late for my friend.

Sorry to hear this.

 

[cgrab]

I read that Military suicides surpassed combat deaths last year. I don't think combat deaths went down as much as the suicides went up. So, in addition to talking to your kids, talk to those who work with you and for you.

 

[weilke]

The Kansas City Star has been reporting on the two suicides and the memorial services. I think they pretty much had to, once it became public when the school made an announcement to the students on Monday.

I think it is more of an issue of getting out in front of it, get the parents aware, hook up kids who may have problems with counselors etc. From the reporting on this case, after the first kid died, word made it around, the other girl posted some despondent comments before she ended her own life.

 

[Henning]

I read that Military suicides surpassed combat deaths last year. I don't think combat deaths went down as much as the suicides went up. So, in addition to talking to your kids, talk to those who work with you and for you.

2/3rds of all gun deaths in the US are suicides.

 

[SomeTexan]

I see how touched many people become about a single teenage suicide, then shake my head as some many of these same people are willing to fight like animals to protect abortion rights.

I went to school with 2 girls that died because of anti-abortion protesters. One died due to birth complications. She had survived a bad car wreck, but had internal injuries that didn't present themselves until pregnancy. It was abortion or die, and protesters attacked her multiple times, so she gave up. The other was raped, was scared and didn't report it until her parents found out she was pregnant. She didn't want to have the rapist's child, anti abortion protesters kept her away, so she took her own life. 12 gauge with bird shot to the belly.

Now, I am not pro-abortion, but I believe in some cases it can be the best or only solution. I do fully believe that the protesters, and anyone who donated to their organization should be charged with the murder of those two girls, and any others who suffered similar fates. But, if I ever found out that an ex had aborted my child, unless she had a good medical reason, I would probably kill her and gladly serve whatever sentence I has given. It is a touchy subject with more factors than some are willing to consider.

More on topic, although I have no kids of my own, my girlfriend's 14 year old daughter lives with us. I've noticed I can tell her the same thing her parents tell her, but she listens to me for some reason. Suicide is a big topic among teens now, and will all the social networking, they know about suicides before the parents of the victims do. My g/f's daughter started talking about it to her parents and other students, ended up in an institution for a couple months and even started cutting herself. About that time is when I met her mother. I simply asked her why, after all the time she spent becoming Catholic? It's a mortal sin right? She dropped it almost immediately, and got back to her happy-go-lucky self. Maybe I'm just a cool outsider rather than a parental figure? I do drive a 1000hp pro street Nova, and have been a part of all kinds of racing over the years. I have often wondered if peer counseling would work better for most teens than going to an adult? They tried a program when I was in high school, but it turned into a popularity contest.

 

[Eagle I]

I had a good friend who came to me one night and started talking about how bad the world was and it made him wonder if it was worth living. I said some placating words and walked away. The next day he killed himself.

You are so right. I made myself a promise after this to never let these type of comments pass without talking to the person about it right then and there. I learned this too late for my friend.

Wow, how horrible! But I hope you didn't feel responsible for your friend's death. He made a choice, and it had nothing to do with your response.