Teenage Suicides

There may be 16,027 teenage suicides in Japan last year or 811 in Malaysia. (figures are plucked from the air.)

Does it matter!

Geraldine wrote on her blog about Sally comtemplating suicide. Geraldine is my daughter. Geraldine is 17 years old this year.

Does it matter! .... Yeah!

Teenage people will never be parents of teenagers until they become parents of teenagers. Parents can never be teenagers today cos they were teenagers of yesteryears, not today.

Does it matter! ... Yeah!

Of course, it does matter.

As a parent of two kids, I realize a while ago and continue to realize, there were no books that I know of to fully guide me; to enable me to decide on the right things to do always and the right decisions to make always. When they were 2 years old, when they were 10 years old and when they were 15 years old. Come 16 on, every couple of days or so, you wrestle with decisions with no clues at all how things will turn out eventually. How things will turn out next week. "Dad, I don't think I want to continue with the Biology tuition. I don't think the teacher even know how to speak in English." " Dad, I want to take my Driving Undang Undang next week so that by next year I can drive around once I passed by driving test. You would buy me a car, would you?"

There are no books that I know of, to fully teach us how to bring up teenage kids. If there are, and if they were published last week, they would already be outdated. "Dad, I've met a new boyfriend in Second Life." "Dad, I want to backpack around South America before doing my Law degree."

If there were some support groups, I would on my first meeting, stand up and say. "Hi, my name is Stanley and I have absolutely no clue on how to bring up my teenage kids."

My son is 25 years old and I still don't have a clue.

However, a google search revealed these:

Bringing up kids does not come with an instruction manual for all the things you will face. It is one of the most difficult things you can do as well as one of the most rewarding. Most people learn how to bring up kids as they go, influenced by the way they were brought up or by what they have read or watched others do.

Adolescence can be a challenging time for young people and their families. Teenagers are going through rapid physical and emotional changes and parents and teenagers must both make changes in their relationship to adjust to this new stage. Teenagers go backwards and forward between wanting freedom and yet still needing the security of the family. Teenagers may want to experiment with new things such as drugs, sex, parties, or parents may worry if their children are eating well enough.

Teenagers are often torn between wanting to be independent and wanting to be cared for. Young people want to experiment with new things and test new limits. Some young people may become depressed, others may run away as a result of arguments or disagreements. Teenagers may themselves become parents.