Last week I blogged about “13 Reasons Why,” the controversial television series from Netflix that, while rated TV-MA, targets the teen demographic.
As you may know, “13 Reasons Why” tells the story of a teen girl who commits suicide and blames others for what happened.
I explained that our parenting team and counselors here at Focus on the Family agreed with the experts who are concerned the show glamorizes suicide and might influence copycat behavior – and that our recommendation to parents is to not allow their kids to watch this series.
But I also did something else.
I encouraged you to talk with your teen about the series.
The reason is simple. Not only is it likely your kids are already talking about “13 Reasons” – it’s also possible they’re dealing with or discussing themes that are addressed in the show.
Things like bullying.
Self-injury.
Sexting.
Rape.
Suicide.
It’s a scary thing to think that teenagers are having to grapple with such serious issues. But that’s the sad reality in too many of our schools today. And while perhaps your teen hasn’t personally engaged in self-injury or cutting, with more than 2 million self-injury cases reported in the U.S. every year, chances are he or she knows someone who has.
And that’s why it’s good for moms and dads to proactively talk to their kids about these very difficult topics.
But… how?
Focus on the Family is here to help.
Our “Parent’s Guide to 13 Reasons Why,” will provide you with 
information on each of the topics I mentioned above, plus tips on how talk with and help your child. The booklet is conveniently divided into sections that will make it easy to you to refer back to as needed.
All you have to do to download our newest free resource is to visit https://focusonthefamily.com/13RW.
And please – share this blog post, my original blog post, and the link to our “Parent’s Guide to 13 Reasons Why” with your family and friends. This is information all moms and dads need.
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