Acie Cargill

Suicide Acie Cargill

So your teenage child is exhibiting symptoms of depression. You know there is something wrong. He or she used to seem perfectly normal. Full of life. Happy to be alive. Sure there were moments when emotions might flare up. That is part being a person. We might be more emotionally involved than necessary and sometimes we get carried away. Everybody does sometimes. Or at least they used to. Maybe they have outgrown the intensity of strong emotions and everything has been fairly mild and calm for years now. But we are talking about teenagers. Hormones acting upon them and causing feelings that they might not understand and might not be able to control. Human maturation takes such a long time. So many years we spend in our childhood and that includes as teenagers. They read all kinds of stuff in books and watch television. All kinds of stuff. And movies and of course, the internet. A myriad of a variety of programming they are exposed to. Other generations didn't have to deal with all that. I think parents should discuss everything with their teenager. All the stuff they read and watch. The ideas and experiences they see and read about. Talk about it with them. Don't make them take in inside and go secret with all their thoughts. You have to keep an open mind. It is up to you to accept your child's interests and attempts at personal learning. You can't be domineering when the child is sharing their real thoughts with you. If they are old enough to think for themselves then they are old enough for you to respect their rights as a person. Just like you expect to be respected