By FOX’s Lisa Brady
With suicide rates on the rise and social media such a minefield, parents may wonder how to help protect their kids from destructive outside influences.
More than one reason for living. That may be one way to help kids be less vulnerable to destructive influences and possibly less susceptible to suicide.
“And then it never comes down to just one thing, and making certain that that’s solid within them, they know who they are, then outside influences don’t mean quite as much,” says licensed professional counselor Rhonda Martin.
Martin suggests a personal mission statement, especially for teens; a list of at least six areas of life to focus on daily. And if they’re struggling in certain areas, write those issues down on a scale of one to ten and 24 hours later, rate them again.
“What you’re going to try to teach them is that the things that felt yesterday like they were 9’s and 10’s and were so upsetting and so devastating, today are 2’s or 4’s and they don’t really mean as much.”
Martin also says from a young age, help them learn to find at least three solutions to every problem, so they’re less likely to think of any situation as having only one way out.
Rhonda Martin is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a mother-of-three. She notes that in most suicides, there was no diagnosed mental health condition and the person hadn’t told anyone they were even thinking about taking their own life. She urges parents to have a face-to-face conversation with kids everyday, to make sure they have a circle of friends and ask about them by name, and to make sure they have other trusted adults in their life they feel comfortable talking to when needed. To find multiple options for solving a problem, she uses a disappointing softball game as an example: Getting a good night’s sleep, going to practice the day before and not skipping dinner might be ways to have a better game next time.
