The 5th grade students and met this week to discuss suicide prevention. Our 5th grade students are so caring! They understood the seriousness of this topic and how we all have a responsibility to show kindness toward others.
I hope you will talk with your student about our lesson. Below is a summary of the topics and some suggested questions you can ask your child.
Lesson 1: Suicide Isn’t Silly Basic information about suicide was provided with a focus on help-seeking when you are worried about yourself a or a peer.
Ask your child:
• What did you learn in class about suicide? Was this new information or did you already know it?
• I know the title of the lesson was “Suicide Isn’t Silly.” What did your class have to say about that?
• What’s one thing you could tell me to help me better understand suicide?
Lesson 2: Friends Help Friends
Because so much of today’s communication among youth takes place online or through smartphones, this lesson focused on the differences between in-person communication and communication through texting or online messages, especially when it concerns potential suicide risk. We explored developmentally relevant signs that a peer may need help and how to intervene and get an adult involved to help troubled friends.
Ask your child:
• I know you talked about how the way people react to texts or online messages can be different from the way they react to the same messages in an in-person conversation. What did you think about that?
• Do you ever see things online that worry you? What are some of the things someone who needs help might say? Tell me one thing you could do if you were worried about a friend.
Lesson 3: Asking for Help Takes Courage
Through an activity that explores different life situations that require courage, the topic of being courageous enough to ask for help was introduced. We also identified the qualities of helpful people. We talked about caring adults at school so students know where and how to get help for themselves or a peer when they are in school.
Ask your child:
• Tell me about some of the things you talked about that require courage.
• Why do you think it takes courage to ask for help?
• What are some of the qualities you think makes a person helpful?
• Who are the people you can go to in the school if you need help? Do you think you would go to them or would you go to someone else? Who?
Lesson 4: Practicing What We’ve Learned
The ideas students have learned in the previous sessions were demonstrated in video segments of youth dealing with a peer who may need help. After a discussion, students are asked to sign a help-seeking pledge, promising that if they are ever worried about themselves or a friend, they will go to a trusted adult for help. They also received a card where they can write the names and contact information of their trusted adults.
Ask your child:
• Tell me about the videos you saw in class. What did you think of them?
• What did you think about the way the kids handled the situation? (Situation: A peer sent a worrisome text message to his friends. One of the girls who was involved finally told her mother and one of her teachers.)
• What is the help-seeking pledge?
If any of your child’s answers to these questions worry or confuse you, please reach out to me. Talking about suicide can be difficult, but we must equip our children with the necessary skills to seek help for themselves and others.
Thank you for trusting me to teach these important skills to your children.
Have a great weekend!
Dr. Edwards
gocounseling 