Your Role
Parent Are the Best For the Job
As a parent, it is your responsibility to look out for your child’s well being, and there is not anyone else out there more suited for the job.You likely have a bond with your child that no other person could have. Sadly, it has been found that there have oftentimes been warnings or red flags that an adolescent has depression. It is also true that these same signs present themselves in cases of suicide that is linked with depression. Some might argue that others, such as teachers, friends, or any other authority figures would be better suited to the task of helping your children, due to your child growing and encountering different people, but I would challenge that. Someone else might spend time with your child as well and may grow to know them, this is true, but that does not mean that they can necessarily have the same impact as someone who raised them. Because of this, it is of the utmost importance that you as parents do your best to recognize these patterns early and try to act as soon as possible.
The issue is, the aforementioned warning signs are subtle enough that parents can often write them off. Things as little as a comment from the teenager or something they may have written or drawn could be a tip off to you. If an adolescent is isolating themselves, they could very well be suffering from depression.
Let's take an example provided by Melissa J. Krauss in her academic journal titled, ‘“I just want to be skinny.”: A content analysis of tweets expressing eating disorder symptoms.” In this, Krauss argues that social media could be a useful tool in identifying if a child is suffering from depression. She has found that oftentimes, adolescents have used social media as an outlet to express if they may be struggling with a mental disorder. Because of this, Krauss has hypothesized that social media might be useful. I would implore any parent to keep tabs on their adolescents social media profiles for this reason.
This is just an example of a way to monitor for signs and red flags that may present themselves. There are numerous warning signs, and as a parent, you are in the best position to spot these. As I stated earlier, there is nobody else more qualified for the task, and nobody else who gets to see a child more than their parent. If you see a warning sign, do your best to identify if it was something that requires your attention.
Figure 4. Young Adolescent by An Min
Figure 5. Social Media Icons on an iPhone 7 Screen (Creative Commons) by Stacey MacNaught