Kids And Depression

[ken7700]

It seems kids are more depressed these days. Am I just seeing things or am I right? let me know what you think.

[Taggart]

I can't say that I've noticed that personally, but if you're referring to kids in or approaching their teenage years, I can imagine that there are more stresses in their lives than when I was a kid.

For one thing, in many schools there's more of a threat of violence and bullying, including online harassing now too.

[SageMother]

I don't know that kids are more depressed, but diagnosis of depression, along with treatment, is a lot different today than it was 10 to 20 years ago.

[ken7700]

I never really though about how much the treatments have changed over the years either. I hear my daughters friends always telling her how depressed they are. I guess everything is changing.

[mrmick]

teenagers and depression sort of go hand and hand. i think its normal because of all the body and societal changes.school is not a picnic either.
they are listening to music, videos and blogging about depression and suicide
they arent outside playing, working and using their imaginations
they all seem to be playing video games, listening to music etc. i saw one person talking on their cell phone while trick or treating. can't you just have some fun at that time.

[tater03]

I haven't noticed this but of course my boys are not teens yet. I have heard that depression can be quite common in teens.

[SageMother]

Originally Posted by mrmick

teenagers and depression sort of go hand and hand. i think its normal because of all the body and societal changes.school is not a picnic either.
they are listening to music, videos and blogging about depression and suicide
they arent outside playing, working and using their imaginations
they all seem to be playing video games, listening to music etc. i saw one person talking on their cell phone while trick or treating. can't you just have some fun at that time.

Let's add the fact that society keeps extending childhood beyond what is reasonable, creating a sense of powerlessness in those who have reached their reproductive years.

[Swastik]

Yes, you are right kids become more depressed these days. As burden of studies increase on them day by day. They take every thing to their hearts. Kids are so sensitive as they need time and proper care. As nowadays parents are busy with their own work and no time left for kids. So what to do to solve this. This is not the fault of kids this the fault of parents.

[mollyL]

My kids' teachers tried loading them down with homework to the point where they had had enough time to eat, do homework and go to bed. Kids, especially teens, need some time to relax, have a little time to put their feet up, have a laugh, chat, and decompress. I called my kids' teachers and told them if they were so deficient in their teaching skills that my kids had to spend the rest of the night trying to finish the job, I'd really have to discuss it with the principal. I told them an hour a night of homework was reasonable and that's what I expected. Guess what? My kids were given one hour's worth of homework a night, and they still managed to retain the highest marks.

[riskey58]

I have not really noticed. But all my kids are grown, and have their own children. I have noticed that kids seem to grow up so much faster then when my kids were young. Maybe this has sonething to do with young people being depressed more.

[Serenity]

Originally Posted by mollyL

My kids' teachers tried loading them down with homework to the point where they had had enough time to eat, do homework and go to bed. Kids, especially teens, need some time to relax, have a little time to put their feet up, have a laugh, chat, and decompress. I called my kids' teachers and told them if they were so deficient in their teaching skills that my kids had to spend the rest of the night trying to finish the job, I'd really have to discuss it with the principal. I told them an hour a night of homework was reasonable and that's what I expected. Guess what? My kids were given one hour's worth of homework a night, and they still managed to retain the highest marks.

Good for you, molly! It makes my heart glad to see parents that still care are out there.

I think partly the reason why kids are depressed these days are there's less decent parenting going on. So many seem to get left to their own devices by so called "cool" parents. They become directionless with the lack of guidance. There's a fine line between letting your kids be free spirits and not caring about them or what's going on in their lives. Let them grow, yes, but set them boundaries too so they turn into responsible, caring people.

Take a look at MySpace sometime and see how many teens talk openly about cutting themselves as if it's ok. I worry what will become of them.

[taisha]

I'm not sure if more kids are depressed or if we are simply talking about it more. It was kind of taboo to speak of in the past, and it's still not super easy to these days. I think it's just the way our society is evolving. 100 years ago people weren't alcoholics, they just liked to drink, 50 years ago women were sent to an insane asylums for what we would call today post partum depression, 20 years ago a child would have been considered overly emotional and now we realize that our brains can dictate our feelings. You're child who has everything in the world they could ever need can be depressed simply because something in their brain isn't firing the right way or enough etc.

I don't think it's because mom and/or dad arent' around, or that they are in too many extracuricular activities or that school has become that much harder. I do think that children are getting away with a lot more than they used to, but besides bullying, I'm not sure how that would contribute to depression.

I had a pretty damn good life, other than some alcoholism issues with a member of my family nothing that would be considered horrible has ever happened to me - yet I suffer from Depression. Depression has also been thought to be hereditary and people are having less kids than they previously did, so in theory it should be getting better, lol.

I will say that perhaps labels are being slapped on children too quickly these days. If Billy is full of energy then he may have ADD, if your little girl cries a lot then she's depressed, if your son isn't doing well in school then he has a learning disability. It's possible that Billy is hyper, the little girl is sad sometimes and your son just thinks school is dumb. We are so quick to jump to conclusions and look for quick fixes to our problems and from what I've heard it's not too difficult to get anti-depressants whether you neccesarily need them or not.

That was long, better stop now - to summarize, no I don't think more kids are depressed, I just think that more kids are allowed to be depressed now.

cheers