Dane Co WI suicides up nearly 100% among young people
Folks, it’s been a tough year all around for many. Take stock with what you have and spend some extra time with your children. Play card games after dinner. Ask questions about their life and interests and listen without judgement. Be interested. Don’t be pushy or overbearing. Young people deal with these lockdowns and forced isolation in different ways that you may not understand. Don’t put off important communication until it’s too late.
Now is the time to reopen states.
More people under 60 will die from suicide than the virus.
In Minnesota Currently 175 people under 60 have died from the virus.
“The cure is worse than the disease”
According to the CDC, nationwide there are over 100k “Excess deaths” (deaths higher than average) not attributed to Covid.
Ya Suicide is a big issue these days with Teenagers. My Daughter has several of her friends who have attempted suicide in the last year. Often their friends then become depressed because they feel like somehow they are at fault. Often the trigger is a relationship breakup. These kids these days just get way to wrapped up in boyfriend/girlfriend relationship far to young. I can not believe the # of kids these days who are on Med’s for depression and anxiety. It seems like 1/2 the kids in my daughters school are on meds for one or the other. Dr’s these days seem to give out depression meds like candy without doing anything to deal with the cause of the depression. It’s really sad that kids these days feel bad enough to need depression med’s or even worse feel like they need to Kill themselves.
Great post! I did a 22 day challenge this summer to bring awareness to the suicide rate of Veterans, which has come down but is still WAY WAY too high at 17 a DAY (down from 22). And part of each of my posts on FB was the Suicide Prevention Hotline ph #800-273-8255, I ended up having a number of people reach out via PM and say they needed that number which was really pretty sobering. Be nice, be positive, and be there for anyone when they need it. Life is too short as it is, and it’s better with you in it.
p.s. I’ve also stopped posting about politics on Social Media, I figure it just adds to the copious amounts of negativity out there already, and I doubt anyone is changing their mind at this point.
Social Media is worse than anything for these kids.
Social Media is worse than anything for these kids.
X2 – It is the cause of lots of problems with todays youth. Sadly its not going anywhere and is going to keep getting worse.
Kids don’t understand the power of social media…if they don’t get enough likes they feel left out and no one likes them. They are too young to brush it off and move on. SM can be very good but also very bad, depends on how you use it.
We made sure our boys watched the Netflix documentary, “The Social Dilemma”. They are not allowed to have social media accounts. I don’t have them either. Make sure to take them fishing, camping and extra curriculars. We have played cards and board games a bunch over the last couple of weeks and its amazing how addicting they can be and how much time we spend playing them. We like monopoly (my youngest loves dogs so we bought the “Dogopoly Version”, my oldest loves geography and traveling so we bought the “National Parks Version”). They take turns being the banker. Learning mortgages and interest rate and strategy and how they compare to “luck”. Good old “Phase Ten” gets played alot too. Hold those kids close. And make sure to never use the word “fair”. it only forces comparisons and worry. always teach constant 110% effort and the rest takes care of itself. good luck to all you parents. Greatest Job on the planet!
We made sure our boys watched the Netflix documentary, “The Social Dilemma”. They are not allowed to have social media accounts. I don’t have them either. Make sure to take them fishing, camping and extra curriculars. We have played cards and board games a bunch over the last couple of weeks and its amazing how addicting they can be and how much time we spend playing them. We like monopoly (my youngest loves dogs so we bought the “Dogopoly Version”, my oldest loves geography and traveling so we bought the “National Parks Version”). They take turns being the banker. Learning mortgages and interest rate and strategy and how they compare to “luck”. Good old “Phase Ten” gets played alot too. Hold those kids close. And make sure to never use the word “fair”. it only forces comparisons and worry. always teach constant 110% effort and the rest takes care of itself. good luck to all you parents. Greatest Job on the planet!
Good for you man! Doin it right! Cheers!
I think taking away everything these kids have lived for is a much bigger problem than anything. No sports, dances, social gatherings, cant sit with friends at lunch or much of anything normal. We are stealing the childhood away from them and blaming social media as the problem now?
They shouldn’t have to distance or wear masks or change anything they do.
We made sure our boys watched the Netflix documentary, “The Social Dilemma”. They are not allowed to have social media accounts. I don’t have them either. Make sure to take them fishing, camping and extra curriculars. We have played cards and board games a bunch over the last couple of weeks and its amazing how addicting they can be and how much time we spend playing them. We like monopoly (my youngest loves dogs so we bought the “Dogopoly Version”, my oldest loves geography and traveling so we bought the “National Parks Version”). They take turns being the banker. Learning mortgages and interest rate and strategy and how they compare to “luck”. Good old “Phase Ten” gets played alot too. Hold those kids close. And make sure to never use the word “fair”. it only forces comparisons and worry. always teach constant 110% effort and the rest takes care of itself. good luck to all you parents. Greatest Job on the planet!
Good for you. I wish I had stuck to my guns when it came to Cell phones and all the social media that comes with them. I do believe its much easier to raise boys in todays society than it is to Raise girls. It just seems like the overall world has changed more for girls the last 10-20 years than it has for boys. Then again this is coming from someone who has only raised a Girl.
I think taking away everything these kids have lived for is a much bigger problem than anything. No sports, dances, social gatherings, cant sit with friends at lunch or much of anything normal. We are stealing the childhood away from them and blaming social media as the problem now?
They shouldn’t have to distance or wear masks or change anything they do.
You’re absolutely right. The lockdowns are also doing significant damage to them as well. I didn’t mean to downplay that, but I think the root of it all is poor parenting and Social Media, then throw the lockdown on top of that and it’s sad to see how it will play out.
Like the OP said, take the time, be involved, have fun and enjoy your kids. Now it’s more important than ever.
“The cure is worse than the disease”
According to the CDC, nationwide there are over 100k “Excess deaths” (deaths higher than average) not attributed to Covid.
100%. The age group of 19 – 44 has over 28,000 “excess deaths” this year with only a small portion of that, roughly 5,000 being linked to COVID. The rest are something else which include suicide and drug overdoses.
That age group of people likely contains a high number of people with large amounts of student loan and other debt and were likely unemployed when this all started taking affect. Mental health through something like this is a real struggle for a lot of people.
I think taking away everything these kids have lived for is a much bigger problem than anything. No sports, dances, social gatherings, cant sit with friends at lunch or much of anything normal. We are stealing the childhood away from them and blaming social media as the problem now?
They shouldn’t have to distance or wear masks or change anything they do.
Mnpat. I think we all know your feelings on the whole Mask issue ( Just FYI – I mostly agree with you on it ) but I believe most of the problems were seeing with kids these days was bad long before the whole Covid issue. I’m sure all the isolation is not helping anything.
I think taking away everything these kids have lived for is a much bigger problem than anything. No sports, dances, social gatherings, cant sit with friends at lunch or much of anything normal. We are stealing the childhood away from them and blaming social media as the problem now?
They shouldn’t have to distance or wear masks or change anything they do.
Amen! My middle son is a very social kid with a diverse group of friends with much different likes and dislikes. This year he is a Freshman so the first year in HS which as I think we can all relate is stressful. To top it off he is doing hybrid learning so they have 2 “Teams”. One goes Monday and Tuesday in person, distance the rest of the week. The other in person Thursday and Friday, distance the rest of the week.
So they split up the students by the alphabet. Almost every single one of his friends is in the opposite group so he never sees them now. This summer we had fishing outings and such, but now its tough.
He is making new friends or becoming better friends with kids he didnt really know that well which is a good thing, but its hard. He and his other friends may grow apart. I hope not because they have been friends for a long time.
I think taking away everything these kids have lived for is a much bigger problem than anything. No sports, dances, social gatherings, cant sit with friends at lunch or much of anything normal. We are stealing the childhood away from them and blaming social media as the problem now?
They shouldn’t have to distance or wear masks or change anything they do.
I am a health care professional and I have spoken my peace on this topic. With over 50% less cancer prescreens during COVID in this country, we will go past COVID Deaths with the deaths in that population alone. Those people’s stories won’t get told. Every death carries equal weight, some just don’t get a Star Trib headline. we are just exchanging lives. its way past time to take off the masks and open up to the fullest extent of pre-Covid. If you are sick, the hospitals will take care of you. I will work overtime for free IF that is what it takes.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>MnPat1 wrote:</div>
I think taking away everything these kids have lived for is a much bigger problem than anything. No sports, dances, social gatherings, cant sit with friends at lunch or much of anything normal. We are stealing the childhood away from them and blaming social media as the problem now?They shouldn’t have to distance or wear masks or change anything they do.
I am a health care professional and I have spoken my peace on this topic. With over 50% less cancer prescreens during COVID in this country, we will go past COVID Deaths with the deaths in that population alone. Those people’s stories won’t get told. Every death carries equal weight, some just don’t get a Star Trib headline. we are just exchanging lives. its way past time to take off the masks and open up to the fullest extent of pre-Covid. If you are sick, the hospitals will take care of you. I will work overtime for free IF that is what it takes.
Joe you are one of the few people who I know in the medical profession who think this way. I sure wish more of them shared your thoughts. I spent the weekend with a house guest who is the medical field and all she could talk about what how people are just not listening to the medical experts who know the science behind all the reasons for mask and isolation. All she could say is just listen to the science.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>joe-winter wrote:</div>
We made sure our boys watched the Netflix documentary, “The Social Dilemma”. They are not allowed to have social media accounts. I don’t have them either. Make sure to take them fishing, camping and extra curriculars. We have played cards and board games a bunch over the last couple of weeks and its amazing how addicting they can be and how much time we spend playing them. We like monopoly (my youngest loves dogs so we bought the “Dogopoly Version”, my oldest loves geography and traveling so we bought the “National Parks Version”). They take turns being the banker. Learning mortgages and interest rate and strategy and how they compare to “luck”. Good old “Phase Ten” gets played alot too. Hold those kids close. And make sure to never use the word “fair”. it only forces comparisons and worry. always teach constant 110% effort and the rest takes care of itself. good luck to all you parents. Greatest Job on the planet!Good for you. I wish I had stuck to my guns when it came to Cell phones and all the social media that comes with them. I do believe its much easier to raise boys in todays society than it is to Raise girls. It just seems like the overall world has changed more for girls the last 10-20 years than it has for boys. Then again this is coming from someone who has only raised a Girl.
I believe you are right FishThumper. I am not sure I would be very good at raising a girl in this environment. I have to believe it would start with demanding no social media, only phone calls and texting. But I thank the Lord for what he gave us and I’ll do my best to work with it. As I am sure that is how you operate as well. Good Luck to you.
Dane Co WI suicides up nearly 100% among young people
Folks, it’s been a tough year all around for many. Take stock with what you have and spend some extra time with your children. Play card games after dinner. Ask questions about their life and interests and listen without judgement. Be interested. Don’t be pushy or overbearing. Young people deal with these lockdowns and forced isolation in different ways that you may not understand. Don’t put off important communication until it’s too late.
Thank you for posting the link to this article as well as your words of encouragement to be focused on family and loved one’s.
The article was chilling, in fact outright frightening as to the trade offs or repercussions of isolating.
Ironically, for me at least personally…is that right now I was supposed to be visiting my youngest daughter and her family living in Stoughton, Dane County-WI.
So the dichotomy is that covid has created the isolation, yet at a time during this isolation when it’s even more important to visit with family, loved one’s, and/or close friends…it is covid that prevents the remedy for isolation.
I debated going to visit anyway, however we agreed it may not be worth the risk. In our situation, my SIL works for Johnsonville Meats in Watertown. A facility with over 500 workers and they have been averaging at least two covid positive cases each week. Not enough to shut the plant down, but enough for us to believe there’s greater chance of exposure. Furthermore, I fell rather ill a couple weeks ago which I feel leaves me more vulnerable.
Sad, we just don’t know what the odds or risks are whenever we walk out the door or where we go. What are the odds of contracting it? What if we do, what are the odds we’ll get over it fine or end up in ICU on a ventilator.
Heartbreaking for us not to visit, but far more devastating to those who’ve lost a loved one due to suicide, covid, or any unexpected cause of death. 
I have 2 family members struggling mightily with long-term Lyme disease (1-2 years and no better despite numerous treatment methods). I read recently that 1 in 5 with long-term Lyme disease commit suicide. I can only imagine if one or both of them get Covid too.
This means a very isolated existence for us and we have even before Covid. It may be as bad as the disease. I say if you’re otherwise healthy, get on with life – don’t let the stats of isolation catch up to you…
This early snow, no sun and being stuck inside doesn’t help anyone either ~
I am a health care professional and I have spoken my peace on this topic. With over 50% less cancer prescreens during COVID in this country, we will go past COVID Deaths with the deaths in that population alone. Those people’s stories won’t get told. Every death carries equal weight, some just don’t get a Star Trib headline. we are just exchanging lives. its way past time to take off the masks and open up to the fullest extent of pre-Covid. If you are sick, the hospitals will take care of you. I will work overtime for free IF that is what it takes.
Could not have been said any better. Thank you for all your efforts in whatever health care capacity you are in. It cant be easy through all this. I went to my Dr for the first time in over a year, not much of a Dr person, rarely go in and when I do its serious.
Anyways, she wouldnt fill my prescriptions anymore without seeing me so I made the appointment. We talked for like 30 minutes and I could tell she wanted to say certain things about all the lockdowns and mandates, but she was reluctant. I am sure there is a ton of pressure all around to say the “right thing”.
I may never end up back working in the office since they have proven this will work. Imagine a building with roughly 800 employees and now there are around 20 working in there. They can literally lease out the space or at the very least no cleaning, turn off HVAC, etc. The cost savings alone would be huge for them.
The pandemic is making some kids’ lives worse but in others it has likely helped. Those that have been bullied in the past are not being bullied in person anymore so it’s likely a relief for those kids to have the distance away from all of that. Those with anxiety and other conditions are probably doing better at home, too.
Just wanted to throw that out there too wondering if people were forgetting that everything wasn’t all that great pre-covid either. Stress levels have been eased for most now. People don’t have to get up as early so are more rested, etc.
A great post. I can’t imagine being in the highschool kids shoes this year. Everything you looked forward to for years all of a sudden changed out of your control.
For anyone that says it’s just sports or just school. I had experiences my last year of highschool in sports that shaped my life. I think of them daily almost 20 years later. I can’t imagine if that would’ve been taken away for a circumstance like this.
With the way we spend money I’d think there’d be a way to open schools and most of the economy. Take care of the vulnerable until we have more of a handle and more information, vaccines,etc.
I’m not the smartest guy but I say isolate those we know are at risk. Sure hope things get back to normal as soon as possible for the kids.
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