I agree with your theory about kids in the “smartphone age” – everything is instantaneous. You no longer have to schlep to the library to write a term paper. Hell, you don’t even have to bully a kid in person, you can do it online! My friend’s son plays Little League where they don’t keep score – everyone’s a winner! Most of the parents of the kids in the league thinks it’s a wonderful idea. We laugh at how ridiculous it is – because these are the kids that the real world is going to chew up and spit out once they’re adults.

BTW, I just found out that the woman who taught my son in summer school last year died – of whooping cough. Unbelievable.

The numbers say there is no big change in age groups. It’s just you are dealing with it more on a personal level.

U.S. Suicide Statistics (1990-2001)

Suicide Rates

Breakdown by Age Groups
(Rates Per 100,000)

Age 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

5-14 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.8 0.7
15-24 13.2 13.1 13.0 13.5 13.8 13.3 12.0 11.4 11.1 10.3 10.4 9.9
25-34 15.2 15.2 14.5 15.1 15.4 15.4 14.5 14.3 13.8 13.5 12.8 12.8
35-44 15.3 14.7 15.1 15.1 15.3 15.2 15.5 15.3 15.4 14.4 14.6 14.7
45-54 14.8 15.5 14.7 14.5 14.4 14.6 14.9 14.7 14.8 14.2 14.6 15.2
55-64 16.0 15.4 14.8 14.6 13.4 13.3 13.7 13.5 13.1 12.4 12.3 13.1
65-74 17.9 16.9 16.5 16.3 15.3 15.8 15.0 14.4 14.1 13.6 12.6 13.3
75-84 24.9 23.5 22.8 22.3 21.3 20.7 20.0 19.3 19.7 18.3 17.7 17.4
85+ 22.2 24.0 21.9 22.8 23.0 21.6 20.2 20.8 21.0 19.2 19.4 17.5
65+ 20.5 19.7 19.1 19.0 18.1 18.1 17.3 16.8 16.9 15.9 15.3 15.3
Total 12.4 12.2 12.0 12.1 12.0 11.9 11.6 11.4 11.3 10.7 10.7 10.8

I have to agree with you. I have seen several articles saying basically the same thing. Kids young people in their early 20’s have no idea how to deal with rejection and failure. Nor do they know how to go outside and climb a tree or swim in a pond or river. They have to wear a helmet to ride a bicycle or roller skate. My grandkids were exposed to all of this and yet they still have problems thanks to the education system. The world is in real trouble.

America needs more Grandparents with Standup Attitude. Someone is slack’n if their kids & grandkids are techno zombies. There will always be some, but blaming the ed system, others, etc… Who has your kids first, you or the system? JMHO, Dammit

http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/suicide/statistics/trends05.html

It isn’t just antibiotics, though that’s huge. About one in three US births is by C-section. Unless (highly uncommon) aggressive measures are taken to supplement with appropriate probiotics in very early infancy, a C-section newborn’s gut bacteria will be a much less healthy mix, and that alone compromises his/her intestinal health and immune development. When young babies are fed formula, it’s even worse (I know it has to happen sometimes, and I’m not trying to blame any young families in difficult situations, but biology is biology. My suggestion: If you can’t breastfeed exclusively, try to get pasteurized banked breast milk. Start ’em on a good infant probiotic. Give your babies vitamin D, give them good fish oil ESPECIALLY if they’re on formula. Moms, if you do breastfeed, take D and fish oil yourselves.) If you have to take antibiotics, take probiotics DURING antibiotic treatment. If you can afford it, take probiotics for a few weeks after, too; there’s additional benefit, but if you can’t, do it during.

And don’t get me started on high fructose corn syrup.

A breast fed baby’s poop will smell …well, those of you who know, know.

Furthermore with the increasing awareness of skin cancer, kids get covered up and sunscreened… which means that vitamin D deficiency is very common and many pediatricians don’t address this. Vitamin D deficiency correlates with Seasonal Affective Disorder as well as immune problems (often resulting in more courses of antibiotics, resulting in…)

Finally, concerns over mercury contamination of tuna fish meaning that kids eat less of an important dietary source of omega 3 fatty acids… and also many commercial sauces and dressing use soybean oil, which is a source of omega 6 fatty acids. We should probably have at most 50% omega 6 in our cell membranes. Studies on military personnel have shown that in that population it tends to be more like 70% omega 6 or worse.

That in and of itself is a cardiovascular disease risk. It also seems to correlate with mood disorders, which often improve when the omega 3 levels start to normalize.

A few years ago there were several teens in the area that committed suicide. They were separate incidents and I can’t tell that they really had any connection to each other. We decided that it would be a good idea to talk to our son about suicide, not that we thought he was in danger, but just to be on the safe side. When I asked him if he ever felt so down and helpless that it even seemed like a possible option, he responded in the negative so emphatically that it was as though I’d asked him the stupidest question in the world. He often displays symptoms of millenial-itis, expecting to be rewarded for mediocrity, but he’s a good kid, and has been improving in attitude since he’s been in school from home. As to video games, there’s nothing wrong with them as long as they’re in moderation. And, maybe it’s a little over the top of me, but we don’t do ultra violent first person shooters in this household.

As a track and field official I work USATF adult meets, collegiate meets, high school meets, and various sponsored open meets. The only levels I have not worked are the Olympic Trials and I don’t have to travel money to do those.

I am sooo tired of watching 90% of the youth “athletes” walking out to the parking lot with medals hanging from their necks. Take 8 to finals and place 8 at the end? Why bother? 8 get on the podium, but all 8 are going to get a medal anyway.

I also get to work championship meets that have absolutely no requirements for prior competition. Fill out the entry form (usually online) and pay your money and you are instantly a championship meet competitor.

We have been growing our own failure as a society. We have nurtured the “have it all” philosophy, and having it all at no cost, no effort, and no risk of failure. I’m glad I’m not 30 years younger because I don’t think I want to see the world my grandchildren will be living in — the preview is bad enough.

I concur with Mrs. C. As a mother if two boys both in little league. We had several boys this season on our team that did squat. One even said he only played because his mother made him and he wanted to quit. Come awards time, all kids got one. Not fair at all to the boys who actually gave 110%. I see it at school award ceremonies as well. So it does not surprise me the suicide rate of these kids when they are in their 20s and no one is awarding their under achieving and things are not handed to them.

Hey Old NFO;

It seems from what I have seen is that the younger kids cannot handle the “failures” They have been programmed since infancy that they are “special” and real life don’t work that way. People nowadays expect resolution quickly, I guess the 30 minute shows on TV helped that mindset. The long term is alien to the kids.