I wonder if there are any studies to determine how well children are taught to deal with the inevitable disappointments in life and the effect that has on suicidal thoughts. When I majored in psychology some 40 years ago, there seemed to be a lot of evidence to indicate that children who were protected from disappointment, hardship, and struggles in childhood never learned to cope with these normal life events. When these protected children were later faced with unpleasant situations during their adolescent years, (that the parents could not shield them from), these children were overwhelmed to the point of attempting suicide because they had no experience in coping with the normal stresses of life. The case that stood out to me was a young girl whose parents made sure she was never disappointed. If it rained the day of a planned picnic, they took her to a movie. They did everything they could to protect her from any and all events that might make her sad or anxious. When this girl reached her mid-teens, she became romantically involved with a boy who later rejected her. This was a disappointment her parents could not protect her from and, because she had never learned to deal with disappointment in her childhood, she was devastated and attempted to take her own life. This may be an over-simplified example, but I believe children need to be taught to deal with unpleasant events throughout their lives. Doing so makes them resilient and better able to cope with the "slings and arrows" that inevitably come in life.
Comments | Return to Story
HalNovember 5, 2021
I wonder if there are any studies to determine how well children are taught to deal with the inevitable disappointments in life and the effect that has on suicidal thoughts. When I majored in psychology some 40 years ago, there seemed to be a lot of evidence to indicate that children who were protected from disappointment, hardship, and struggles in childhood never learned to cope with these normal life events. When these protected children were later faced with unpleasant situations during their adolescent years, (that the parents could not shield them from), these children were overwhelmed to the point of attempting suicide because they had no experience in coping with the normal stresses of life. The case that stood out to me was a young girl whose parents made sure she was never disappointed. If it rained the day of a planned picnic, they took her to a movie. They did everything they could to protect her from any and all events that might make her sad or anxious. When this girl reached her mid-teens, she became romantically involved with a boy who later rejected her. This was a disappointment her parents could not protect her from and, because she had never learned to deal with disappointment in her childhood, she was devastated and attempted to take her own life. This may be an over-simplified example, but I believe children need to be taught to deal with unpleasant events throughout their lives. Doing so makes them resilient and better able to cope with the "slings and arrows" that inevitably come in life.
ADD A COMMENT