I’m super excited to begin blogging and sharing my experiences working with young people. First and foremost, thank you for visiting my site and valuing the information that I share. Successfully interacting with the young people of today is one of the more complicated tasks that we face as adults. I have spent my entire career working with young people of various backgrounds and demographics and the one things I learned is that I have a lot to still learn!

I’m approached on almost a daily basis by parents of students within the school that I am principal. The number one struggle that I hear is breaking through the walls that our young people present and opening up genuine lines of communication that will allow parents and adults to understand and assist with the needs of our youth. Everything from the lingo that is used to their experiences in today’s fast paced world sometimes feels foreign to us. The goal of this blog is to open up dialogue among those of us facing this challenge to assist each other in finding success.

There are so many things going on in our society right now that need discussion but I do not want to overwhelm and not allow time for processing. The first topic I want to tackle is the increase in youth suicides and other related illnesses. Each year within the schools we encounter a number of students who are expressing concerning messages related to self harm. It seems as though between the issues related to bullying, diagnoses illnesses, and overall self-esteem issues, more and more teens are finding it difficult to push through the difficult times of life and find hope in the future. How do we as the adults who have been charged with the support of these young people put our best foot forward towards helping them? With the minimal communication that some of our young people offer, how do we even know they are struggling?

When parents approach me with these types of questions or even when I struggle with these concerns related to my own kids, I always try to go back and remember what it was like being a kid myself. I remember how hard it was to talk to adults and feel the confidence at times to open your mouth and say what’s on your mind. I then ask myself why it was like that and I remember feeling as though I was alone in my concerns and that the adults around me simply wouldn’t understand. I remember feeling that I would get in trouble for my thoughts and questions and feeling afraid and ashamed. This wasn’t because the response that I was getting from adults always reinforced these beliefs, but rather as a young person the lack of experiences and confidence to know what’s normal and what’s not.

So how do we bridge that gap of understanding and comfort between adults and young people to open up the lines for greater communication? How do we create and facilitate that comfort and confidence within our young people to say the things that they feel to us in order to allow us to process these feelings and emotions with them before they make the wrong decision(s)? There is no simple step by step answer outside of creating environments that are accepting that normalize the experiences of our youth. That doesn’t mean normalizing suicide but rather normalizing talking about it in responsible ways. This means opening up the lines of communication with our young people in creative ways that lay a groundwork of comfort for discussions around any topic. There are a number of resources available online that can help guide and help us with starting conversations with our kids. I won’t insult you and you can do your own Google search on this.

The one practice I would like to point out, however is the role modeling that we often leave out of the equation, especially as we talk about dealing with our feelings and emotions. I have found in my time working with young people that most kids handle themselves emotionally in the exact same manner as their parent(s), guardian or role model. Modeling healthy emotional coping skills is critical towards helping our kids to develop them. Is this a cure all for the suicide epidemic that we’re facing? Of course it isn’t but it is one of the biggest first steps towards developing an emotionally healthy society that does a better job at preventing these tragedies.

They will do as we do and not as we say no matter how much we talk and how much we pray.