Teens: it's not your fault.

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It seems that every single teenager is considering suicide at times. The problem isn't you, it's a society that heaps adult responsibility on 12 year olds and then tells them to deal with it like a grown up. They literally can't, their brains aren't developed enough, so they decide that suicide is the only way. Kids go through adult stresses, and are told to "deal with it", "stop whining", and "grow up". The 12 year old's method of dealing with issues would be unseemly in a grown adult, certainly. But pubescent humans are more like kids than adults. They lack perspective, they lack coping skills, and they lack adult sensibilities. Adults just tell them to deal with it like an adult. They can't, so faced with an impossible conundrum, they kill themselves.

14 year olds should not be having sex, certainly, and should not have to face the urge to procreate at very young ages. But they do. Since the start of the Industrial Revolution the onset of puberty has dropped from 16 to 13, with 10 and 11 year olds facing overwhelming urges never intended for them. They can't handle pregnancy, can't raise a kid. Boys especially are vulnerable to female predators who take advantage of surging hormones. That's just one area where kids are expected to go from Barney to the streets in an instant. It is impossible. It can't be done. If you're a teenager, just know that it will pass, the urges will die down, you will develop coping skills, and it will get better-if you let it, and don't cut it off by killing yourself.

Luckily my parents didn't give me this crap. What happened to me when society expected kids to be grown ups, I regressed and had a fear of growing up.

I don't think they are telling kids to have sex and have kids. Now kids are getting busted now for having it. I wouldn't be surprised when a 13 year old and a 15 year old get charged for having sex and they both have to register as a sex offender.

Idk, when I was a teen, I personally never faced any of this. My parents kept my freedoms from me and sheltered me more so then telling me to suck it up and be an adult. Because of this and being aspie, I enter college very naive and unknowledgable. In fact I had to fight for my freedom, it almost got ripped from me a year ago.

I actually dont see 12 year olds being heaped adult responsibilities, I mean some probably but not 12 year olds on the whole. Yeah theres new responsibilities but I dont see 12 year olds being treated like adults.

As for 14 year olds having sex, this comes from the hypersexualized media, peer pressure, access to many "things" with the freedom of the internet, etc.

When I was a teenager I halfheartedly attempted suicide about 7 times, at a pace of about once per year, usually coinciding with the start of the school year. My last suicidal thought was when I was in basic Training at Ft. Jackson when I was 20 in 2006. I just wanted to blow my brains out on the range and just end my miserable life.

When I was in those early teen years, as is being discussed, I remember once I tried to electrocute myself in the shower and the other time I took like 30 of my mom's high-blood-pressure pills. All that happened was that I got sick.

I totally agree that this "age compression" in today's tweens and teens is a serious problem. It was an even bigger problem for me because I had undiagnosed AS and my Parents were pushing me ridiculously hard to fit in with teen society and to be "preppy" and "popular" and employed in a typical teen menial job. Their plans were seriously backfiring. They were in a huge hurry to turn me into an adult on their hyper-social lines and the careful construction was cracking. All my parents wanted was for me to be normal and all I wanted was to be left in peace.

Teens are under huge pressure in this new century in the preparatory school systems beacuse 30 million kids are competing for a handful of college slots to get a dwindling number of respectable jobs. Our economy is a decaying service economy with only face-to-face, service oriented jobs seeking new employees. The millenial generation has only to look forward to a lifetime of flipping burgers, cutting hair, or working the register, unless of course they manage to secure a path to become one of the dwindling # of the white-collar elite.

The Media is engaging in aggressive "age compression" campaigns to speed up the rate at which a child matures and grows. Products like Bratz dolls aimed at elementary school girls are getting preschoolers to act like 3rd graders, 3rd graders to act like 6th graders, 6th graders to act like Juniors, and HS juniors to act like 25 year old women. If a kid mentally or socially can't keep up with their peers' accelerated growth of aging and development, he falls behind in all facets of life. Media stereotypes influence peer pressure on kids to act as grown up as possible to "fit in". This, paralled with the increasingly hyperpressure of the school system to frontload kids with an overwhelming amount of classwork and responsiblity, creates a brutal, zero-sum environment that is extremely unhealthy for personal growth and leads to depression and early burnout.

thanks... good posts

Agreed with the good posts.

The sad part is, many so-called youth placements (as well as parents) force you to be responsible for yourself and also expect you to handle anything that comes your way. I should know, as I live in them.

Heck, I may be almost an adult. However, being who I am, I feel like I'm not growing up fast enough for these people.

It seems like the typical neurogically normal youth can't grow up fast enough, but a kid with aspergers fights growing up to the bitter end.