A good article in the 12/3/19 New York Times stressed the importance of doing something about the marked increase in youth suicides. It stressed that from 2000 to 2007 the suicide rate of youths from ten years to twenty-four increased by 56 percent. That is startling. It is the second leading cause of death in this age group next to car accidents. It also stated that "since 2011, there's been nearly a 400 percent increase nationally in suicide attempts by self-poisoning."
What is going on? Are parents getting so busy that they are not recognizing a child in trouble? Perhaps they are in denial or just not paying attention to their children. School, too, are to blame when individuals in trouble are expelled rather than identified and helped. I've seen several articles about schools that send troubled kids to charter schools so their graduation rate stays high, rather than helping the students in trouble. The charter schools don't seem to be helping these students either because many students do their school work online and no one pays much attention to them.
Social media is terrible for the many students who spend a great deal of time online and their smartphones are their connection with the outside world. I would not allow any child of mine to constantly be on a smartphone. What about talking to your children, having family dinners, what about chores or doing things together? Has parenting turned into just feeding and clothing children? When I was in private pediatric practice, many kids would pretend to be ill just so they could come and talk to me. I still hear from patients I took care of many years ago. They are desperate for real communication and knowing an adult who cares. One of the reasons I sold my practice was I was either going to open a group home for the many lost kids I saw almost daily, adopt a bunch of them, or find an answer to their loneliness.