Chris Freshcoln pens the following response to The Sun’s editorial on teen depression screening.
Yes, yes and yes to Assembly Bill 3926. However, notifying the parents may not be enough.
There is such a stigmatism regarding mental health issues that the parents may not seek the help the child needs. Not sure what to do about that other than possibly making it a situation similar to child abuse laws where the school must report the depression to an authority having jurisdiction. The child needs to get help despite their parents in these cases.
Also, I feel like we are being bullied with the “anti-bullying” programs. Spending money on telling a child why they shouldn’t bully versus spending money on telling a child why they are special, important, unique, relevant, and needed in this world is a no-brainer to me.
Teach the child to value themselves and they will get past the bullying. You will have more chances of success of helping a person who is depressed than getting a person who is a bully to stop bullying.
Chris Freshcoln
