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Supportive family environment vital in preventing youth suicides

The alarming rate of teenage suicide should alert everyone, especially parents, to the vulnerability of teenagers. (“Teen suicides last year highest in more than a decade, says SOS”; July 25)

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Aaron Ng, Youth Specialist, Focus on the Family Singapore

The alarming rate of teenage suicide should alert everyone, especially parents, to the vulnerability of teenagers. (“Teen suicides last year highest in more than a decade, says SOS”; July 25)

Research indicates that a sense of parent-family connectedness is one of the most effective protections against suicidal behaviour among young people. Experts tell us that across cultures, supportive parental relationships play a crucial role in cultivating resilience in teenagers, and empower a young person to personally deal with threats to their well-being.

Even though teenagers may not express it, our work with almost 100,000 teenagers in the past 14 years has revealed time and again that family still remains an integral part of a young person’s life.

However, teenagers sometimes fear being judged by their family and feel great pressure to perform according to parental and societal expectations, spoken or otherwise. They may have a constant need to maintain harmony at home, and thus retreat online to cope with their own stresses, further isolating and disconnecting them from their parents.

Teenagers who do not have a close, healthy relationship with their parents are susceptible to low self-esteem and anxiety when they access social media regularly.

Teenagers still need constant encouragement and support from their parents. Parents need to create an atmosphere at home where teenagers are praised for their effort and character, rather than their results and achievements. We should also be less exacting or over-reactive, and avoid using negative words to spur change. (“Children with intrusive parents face higher risk of depression, suicide”; June 22)

Establishing a supportive parent-teen relationship requires time and effort. Besides intentionally connecting with their teenagers, parents need to demonstrate that it is okay to seek help, first by changing our own attitudes and behaviour towards people who may have mental health issues, and seeking help for ourselves when we face personal setbacks.

Resilience in teenagers is built when parents affirm them and model for them how to overcome failure. Teenagers who are strongly assured that their family will be with them, despite their failings and the future challenges they may face, will have little to no reason to take their own life.

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