Whiteboy - 2015-03-26 12:41 PM One of them commented to his grandma that works for me, that he just didn't fit it.  He is into the theater stuff and in a small town I can understand how that would make you feel different, but really its that bad that you want to take your life.  And several of these are seniors in High School.  If they only realized how life changes for them in just a few short months.   

wyoming barrel racer - 2015-03-26 11:42 AM

In my humble opinion, we have raised week minded people. I know not all, but the crap my 6yr old son whines about my dad would have had a meltdown had I done that. We don't cater to him, but I don't think most kids of that generation 2000's could have any survival skills as a whole. They just can't think for themselves. They can't take anything disrupting their rainbows and butterflies kind of life. I guess I have no idea how to explain what I am talking about, but compare the needy kids of today to our grandparents and great grandparents generations.

Herbie - 2015-03-26 1:22 PM I have a few theories, and maybe my final opinion is cumulative to all of these theories, but I feel like parents today are putting so much pressure on their kids to be successful and living vicariously through their children instead of letting kids be kids.  It seems as though parents today measure their own success through the success of their child at their given hobby (baseball, football, rodeo, etc.).  It's a constant competition between parents as to whose child is the most successful and it saddens me.  Parents are pushing 8 YO's to play 70 baseball games a year, they are pushing babies to put on pads and hit each other like grown men and pushing these kids until they are literally puking, we are strapping our babies on high powered barrel horses that they aren't ready for.  This is not a problem with our children, it is a problem with our parents!  When we were kids, my mom took me to the horse show on whatever horse was available and turned me loose.  She let me play softball, basketball, cheerleading, take dance, etc, but there was never any pressure on me to be the BEST at any of it.  She let me figure out who I was as a person and what I enjoyed doing the most, and because of that I grew into a well rounded adult. 



The pressure that is being put on these kids at such a young age isn't fair to them.  We are teaching them to feel entitled and that if we aren't "winning" we are "failing", which is absolutely not the case.  I had a great coach (who is now a top college football coach) tell me one time, "You have to learn how to lose before you learn how to win!", and there is alot of truth to that statement!  No child should feel that kind of pressure until they are mature enough to put it on themselves, IMO.  A child is mentally capable of handling that kind of stress, pressure, and when the expectations aren't met of what they think their parents are wanting, they do feel like failures and disappointments.  We never teach our kids to loose, we praise them and tell them how perfect and great they are at everything instead of teaching them that there is always going to be someone better and someone worse at everything than you.  We don't pick and laugh at our kids anymore and they are never taught humility, I think, so they can't take criticism of themselves or from others.



I do believe that social media is a huge problem.....and not only for children.  I see the same going on with adults and have seen alot of lives ruined by social media sites like Facebook.  It does give people a sense of anonymity and makes them feel more empowered to say nasty things to each other, be sneaky, or take a stand.  I recently heard a staggering statistic that stated over 30% of todays youth will have to legally change their name before entering the job market due to what they have posted or been tagged in on social media.  How scary is that!  How sad is that to have to completely create a new person and life to be employable!!!  I see it all of the time on the one social media site I do peruse from young people and I just wish I could shake them and say WAKE UP!!!! 



I think we will continue to see this trend increasing unfortunately.  There is definitely a problem, but I don't believe it's our children.  Children are the same, it's the parenting and the things available to them before they are mature enough to handle the situation (pressure of success, inappropriate things on the internet that kids have access to through their phones, Facebook, and just the overall pressure of living up to the expectations the parents have set forth for them) that is plaquing our youth. 





 

Mimi barrel racer - 2015-03-26 7:00 PM I'm not a young person but I have tried to kill myself three times. The pressures of life today is not very nice. I was molested as a child, I've had weight issues, I felt that my husband didn't love me any more, I've had a number of things going on. And you only want to be loved, showed that your loved and that you do matter. My husband and I talk with our pastor once a week, I've been in mental hospitals four times. There are days I feel that I can't move. I just pray and do the best I can.

Mimi barrel racer - 2015-03-26 7:00 PM I'm not a young person but I have tried to kill myself three times. The pressures of life today is not very nice. I was molested as a child, I've had weight issues, I felt that my husband didn't love me any more, I've had a number of things going on. And you only want to be loved, showed that your loved and that you do matter. My husband and I talk with our pastor once a week, I've been in mental hospitals four times. There are days I feel that I can't move. I just pray and do the best I can.

WrapSnap - 2015-03-26 10:37 PM When I was like 16, I had a friend who used to call me all of the time crying, freaking out. She would tell me that she wanted to kill herself, was about to kill herself, how she was going to do it. She had a rather stable home life, loving parents, I never understood. I also never believed her. I would talk to her, give her the attention that I felt that she was seeking, make her laugh, hang up and go about my day. The one day, she called and I was super busy. I answered, she told me that she was about to take a bottle of pills and I said "Honey, let me call you back when I get done here.". Her mother called me an hour later. When she got home from work, she found her daughter face down in the middle of the living room floor, dead. I carried that guilt with me for a long time. I went to a very Ag based High school. We actually had what was called the Academy of Agritechnology. It was essentially a school within a school. The classes all tied in with our huge Ag program. My Freshman year in the Academy would have been rough for just about anyone. I have always been a rather confident person. Like me, or hate me, I don't really care. That first year, about the only students who interacted with me were the girls and a few guys who I had gone to Middle school with. I never let it get to me though. My Sophomore year, I was on the Academy Recruiting team and travelled to other schools to discuss the program. Many students raised a fuss, as they didn't want me representing what the program was about. I did my job well, held my head high and there was never thought of my being removed from the team. By my Junior year, I was President of the Academy. I managed all of the Academy property, met with visiting schools and guided tours with then Governor Jeb Bush and former Comissioners of Agriculture. There were obviously still some students who had major issues with a gay kid representing the program and things were definitely brought to my attention. At the end of my Jr year, I chose to run for President of our FFA chapter, having held offices the two previous years. My opponent was a very well like girl, who's father was the President of our County Fair. The smear campaign that she launched against me was brutal! Having been highly involved with the FFA through the State level in Horse and Livestock Judging and Extemp speaking, I had made quite a few friends with members throughout the state. I started receiving calls from members of other chapters within our District letting me know that she was calling around complaining about how bad it would look for us to have a faggot for President. When the night came, 75 active members voted. I won 73 to 2. The only votes that she received were her own and mine. Two days before Senior Prom, a good friend of mine called me and asked if he could come over. It was very late, but he sounded like he needed a friend. When he got to the house, he looked horrible. This kid was the epitome of rugged, farm boy good looks. He was always happy go lucky with his friends, but never happy with his relationships. He sat in my living room for about 20 minutes before he broke down crying. When he was finally able to speak again he simply said "I don't know how you do it. I could never be that brave.". After a while of talking, he came out to me. He said that he had just finally made himself deal with the fact that he was gay and that just before calling me, he had been sitting there with a gun in his hand, about to kill himself. The next day, he went home and came out to his parents. I ended up going to pick him up, as his parents disowned him. He was not allowed to remove any belongings from their home. He and I walked into Prom together and he came out to all of our friends. We were never an item, but he lived with me for some time, until he got things together. I feel as though bullying is an issue, yes. Kids can be brutal, but so can adults. As an out, gay teenager, I heard more slurs and condemnations from adults of all ages then I ever did from my peers. In my early 20's, I volunteered at a Youth program. The number of teens that came in with stories of their families disowning them for being gay, or a teenage pregnancy were baffling. It was hard enough for me to shrug off the things that were always said to me and I had a loving mother who celebrated who I was as an individual. My father and I just never went there and my Sister told me to my face that I was repulsive, but for the most part, I had amazing support. I cannot imagine how utterly alone many young people feel. Feelings are valid, be they justified, or not. If you feel as though you are all alone and nobody will ever understand you, that is a pit of misery that you can't help but to dwell in. The answer is humanity. We need parents to have compassion for their children. We need spouses to have compassion for one another. Teachers need to not stand by and allow another student to call a child a fag, or trash. It happens. More often than not, the teacher might well have the same feelings. We need people to take an active interest in their fellow man. We must think about how we speak to one another, especially impressionable youth. I have been called just about every derogatory word that you can think of, but the one that cut the deepest... stupid. We must start early. If a child is made to feel useless, unloved, uncared for and like a burden, how are they ever supposed to develop self confidence?Sadly, sometimes even our best efforts aren't enough. I know several young men right now who are struggling with coming out to their parents. Parents who are loving, accepting, open minded people. These young men have even acknowledged that they know that there parents will accept them, but that they still don't want to disappoint them. All we can do is let them know that they are loved.

wyoming barrel racer - 2015-03-26 11:42 AM

In my humble opinion, we have raised weak minded people. I know not all, but the crap my 6yr old son whines about my dad would have had a meltdown had I done that. We don't cater to him, but I don't think most kids of that generation 2000's could have any survival skills as a whole. They just can't think for themselves. They can't take anything disrupting their rainbows and butterflies kind of life. I guess I have no idea how to explain what I am talking about, but compare the needy kids of today to our grandparents and great grandparents generations.

mollibtexan - 2015-03-27 12:56 AM I agree 100%! Weak minded! Everything is fair and even. That's not life! Get over it work harder! Be better! Kids are to sheltered and don't have a purpose in life! To many video games and not enough talking and laughing with family!

Mimi barrel racer - 2015-03-26 7:00 PM I'm not a young person but I have tried to kill myself three times. The pressures of life today is not very nice. I was molested as a child, I've had weight issues, I felt that my husband didn't love me any more, I've had a number of things going on. And you only want to be loved, showed that your loved and that you do matter. My husband and I talk with our pastor once a week, I've been in mental hospitals four times. There are days I feel that I can't move. I just pray and do the best I can.