A recent study by the Josephson Institute revealed that 68 percent of 8,600 high school students surveyed had hit someone within the past year because they were angry, and 46 percent had done so at least twice. Nearly half of the students said that they could get a gun if the wanted to. It concerns me that the hours children spend in school between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. have become the most dangerous part of their day. Young people who have a close parent-child bond are more likely to avoid dangerous destructive behavior. Teens aged 15-16 who do not feel close to their parents are about three times as likely to think about suicide as teens who are close to their parents.
Teenagers spend an average of three and one half hours alone every day.
Over half of American teens believe a murderous rampage could erupt at their school. If we don't address this issue of disconnectedness and building relationships community by community, family by family, and then child by child, we are likely to continue seeing tragedy repeated again and again. If you are interested in protecting your family, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of parents and adult caretakers learning how to enter the sometimes complex and confusing worlds of their children to make a connection at a deep emotional level. To that, I wholeheartedly agree. Young people who have a close parent-child bond are more likely to avoid dangerous destructive behavior.