Moms Talk: The Suicide Discussion

Collingswood Patch invites you and your circle of friends to help build a community of support for mothers and their families right here in Collingswood.

Each week in Moms Talk, our Moms Council of experts and smart moms take your questions, give advice and share solutions.

Moms, dads, grandparents and the diverse families who make up our community will have a new resource for questions about local neighborhood schools, the best pediatricians, 24-hour pharmacies and the thousands of other issues that arise while raising children.

Moms Talk will also be the place to drop in for a talk about the latest parenting hot topic. Do you know of local moms raising their children in the Tiger Mother's way, and is it the best way? Where can we get information on local flu shot clinics for children? How do we talk to our children about the Tucson shootings? How can we help our children's schools weather their budget cutbacks?

So grab a cup of coffee and settle in as we start the conversation today with a question from Rebecca Gillis:

Yes, I am sure we all talk to our kids on a daily basis. I'm assuming it goes a little something like, " How was school?" "Good." "What did you do today at school?" "Nothing."

Today, the tween/teen population seems to be more interactive on the Web with strangers than verbally with their own parents.

I had a workshop recently at my school on suicide prevention. We watched a video of two local children who took their own lives. It was very hard for me to watch—both as a mother and as an educator—without feeling a deep sadness for the families, and most of all for the children.

The same question entered my mind over and over again—why?

I know many of us have stereotypes embedded in our minds, of the type of kids who commit suicide. "Maybe they come from a broken home, maybe they don't have any friends."

Unfortunately, more times than not, this is not the case. The children in the film clip, along with several others that I know of, were highly involved in their school and community activities. They were athletic, intelligent kids with supportive friends and family.

How could they think that taking their own lives was the only answer?

I’m not saying precaution equals prevention, but if we, as parents and community members, can save one child from taking their own life, that is more than we could ask for.

Now, I want to know what you think! What advice do you have to offer?

How do you talk to your kids about their problems? How do you talk to them or how will you talk to them when someone at their school takes their own life? I've heard of kids as young as eighth grade in this area taking their own lives—how can we prevent this as parents and members of the community?

The No. 1 statement I want all parents to avoid thinking or saying is, “My kid would never do that. We love them and they know that!"

On a side note: A close friend of mine recently had a cousin, who at the young age of 14, took his own life due to the pressures of being bullied at school. In his memory, and to increase awareness everywhere, the Kindness Above Malice (KAM) organization was established. Please take the time to visit KAM's website and hear Kameron’s story. Click here to find out how you can help.