Video Blogs Suicide is a difficult topic. Did you know that by talking about suicide, you actually help decrease its likelihood? To learn more about suicide prevention, join us for this short video blog, where you will learn how to increase suicide awareness, and ways to help students who may be struggling with mental illness.
Please share the suicide lifeline number with your students: 1-800-273-TALK.
Video Transcript
Hi. I’m Susanne with Learners Edge.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 1,309 children between the ages of 5 and 12 committed suicide between the years 1999 and 2015. This alarming statistic reminds us that as educators, we have an important responsibility to pay attention to our children’s mental health.
There are three steps that we can take to ensure that we are doing just that.
- The first thing we can do is talk about it. Contrary to popular belief, talking about suicide does not increase its likelihood. It actually has the opposite effect.
- The second thing we can do is we can check in with our students. Ask them how they’re doing, and invite them into conversations, to see how things are going in their lives.
- The third thing we can do is listen to our students. Once we’ve invited them to talk to us, it’s very important that we take the time to listen to what they have to say. We need to let them know that we’re there to help, and that we can be a resource for them. In addition, we can tell them about other resources that the school has, like a school counselor, or other teachers or friends that can help.
If you’d like more information about helping children with mental health, check out Course 854: Caring for the Mental Health of Students, or Course 915: Caring for the Mental Health of the Young Learner.
For students who prefer to remain anonymous, they can always dial the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 1-800-273-TALK.
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