Our youth are being bombarded with more stress and trauma than at any other time in history. When I was a kid I was bullied but I was able to go home and be safe. Now with cyber-bullying they can’t get away from the bullies. When I was a kid, school and work place shootings were a rarity. Now schools have school shooting drills. When I was a kid pornography was something in magazines you had to be brave enough to buy. Now pornography can be found with a few simple clicks of the mouse.
Our children are facing all of this and more daily but I feel that we are not giving them the tools they need to succeed. Teen suicide rates are increasing but we are too afraid to talk about it. The mentality still is that if we mention suicide people will be more likely to die by suicide. This isn’t true. When I was a Crisis Text line counselor we were taught to ask every texter if they were thinking about suicide. We need to be more comfortable talking about suicide.
As I listed earlier our youth are dealing with things that we never had to handle. They need our help. We need to be more comfortable talking about mental health. Our kids don’t know how to get through hard times. We need to be more comfortable letting our kids be uncomfortable. They need to know that they are strong enough to handle hard times. They need to be given the skills to get through the hard things.
They need to know that it is OK to ask for help. Too often as kids we see adults as being perfect and not having any problems. Kids need to know that we struggle, get help and become stronger. We don’t need to burden them with every bit of our struggle but when they see us seeking help it is easier for them to ask for help.
Our youth need us to listen to them. They need to know that they are important and that they matter. If you are a teen or a parent of a teen needing help I will be putting together a class to help strengthen teens, Comment below or message me and I will keep you updated on the class.