Death of a sixth-grader

Today I had to do something very hard in my life, I had to tell my son that a friend of his from school had committed suicide, the hard part about this story is that the kid is 11 years old.
How is it that a kid who is 11 even gets to this point.
I grew up with the notion that it takes a village to raise a kid but with all the problems with education, parents who are not there and laws that punish parents who discipline there kids not abuse but discipline no wonder that this kid has become a statistic of our society, some are saying it was bulling but its still early to know the whole story.
We need to put political rhetoric aside when it comes to what kids need there are falling through the cracks,
So what is it, holding parents liable for bulling, having school go longer during the school day and longer during the year, more community involvement, what is it that we can do?
I’m sad not just because what happened but what we have become.

New Bedford public school administrators sent a letter to parents Wednesday telling them of the death of a sixth-grader

www2.turnto10.com...

Originally posted by cmaracing
Today I had to do something very hard in my life, I had to tell my son that a friend of his from school had committed suicide, the hard part about this story is that the kid is 11 years old.
How is it that a kid who is 11 even gets to this point.
I grew up with the notion that it takes a village to raise a kid but with all the problems with education, parents who are not there and laws that punish parents who discipline there kids not abuse but discipline no wonder that this kid has become a statistic of our society, some are saying it was bulling but its still early to know the whole story.
We need to put political rhetoric aside when it comes to what kids need there are falling through the cracks,
So what is it, holding parents liable for bulling, having school go longer during the school day and longer during the year, more community involvement, what is it that we can do?
I’m sad not just because what happened but what we have become.

New Bedford public school administrators sent a letter to parents Wednesday telling them of the death of a sixth-grader

www2.turnto10.com...

until we know what the cause for suicide was, we cant really do much. when i have a kid, im gonna teach it that there is always an alternative to suicide, probably something the parents failed to do.

I think we do know the cause of this. It was surely mental illness. A child that is not mentally ill is not going to kill them selves because they were bullied. We seem to over identify excitable kids has mentally ill and ignore many signs of depression.

Thats horrible news, it really is. When I was around 7, I had suicidal thoughts too. Its too easy to have these, and often times, its not even a result of direct bullying. Sometimes its just loneliness,or even loss of motivation.
We need to, as a society, focus on this more.

My condolences to you, your son, and the boys family.

I hate reading things like this. The age bracket seems to be getting younger every year.

I remember knowing I was "different" as young as 11. I struggled with bipolar until I was over 20 years old and then found help. My mother ws a nurse and she didn't spot it. The stigma that comes with mental issues is still very prevelant sadly. I hid it, just as tons of other children/adults do everyday. Society teaches us to not be weak, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, man up, etc. This is leaving our children feeling like they can't talk about it, and adults ignoring it.

I am sorry your son had to experience this. I feel for the other child's parents, and loved ones. We all need to make sure we talk to our children about mental health, and that it is ok to ask for help or just talk to someone. Children have a hard way to go, and being "different" in ANY way makes their road harder to travel at times. Bullying and other things can push a struggling child over the edge. It is a sad disturbing trend IMO.

The family wil be in my thoughts and prayers. I hope your son has peace while he deals with the loss.

As parents we need to be more aware, and even then it still ends badly at times. I really don't know of a solution. I just know it is heartbreaking for all those concerned.

A sensitive kid , watching CNN and perhaps getting the impression that the world is worse than it is. I don't know that this is the case , its just what I thought of reading this. Regardless , it is sad.

I don’t know I was raised at the time when my father would tell me “do you need my foot up your ass” it was that type of attitude that made me respect my teachers and everyone around me also.
I find that there does not exist this type of attitude today with most parents and that most kids run the house one of my other favorite sayings was “ I brought you into this world I can take you out of it “ I know he never really felt that way but it was enough just that he said it.
In my hole life my father hit me once but it was his strong fatherly attitude that scared me straight.