Emo?!

[JustBritt]

As many of you know I work with elementary kids.

Maybe like my 3rd or 4th week into work, there was a girl in my group, 5th grade. The kids used to always say she's emo, I've even heard her say it myself.

When I was in middle school, there was this thing we used to do with the mechanical pencils to make it look like we're giving ourselves shots. Little did I know, she was actually trying to stick herslef with the pencil. There was a time she brought a razor to school, cutting herself and threatening the other kids. She was suspended of course.

Anyways, I'm now seeing one some of my little cousins saying they're emo. (One of which ran away the other night), they're just really strange. I just left one of their pages, and she has a picture of herself with a safety pin opened, as if it's clipped to her lip. 

I have no idea what emo is, but I hear it often working with kids. I decided to google it, and this is what I found.....
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070317210320AAkvARV

What that person described is exactly what I saw with that 5th grader, and with my little cousins when they post on FB.

What yal think?

[JustBritt]

OAN: A lot of these kids have some serious ummmm "issues". Many of them see psychologists and stuff.

One little girl, who is normally quiet (1st grader); the counselor asked her why she was so hyper and talkative. She responded and said her mom didn't give her her medication.  There was also another time when she told the counselor that she's trying to be good, but the voices in her head won't let her. A kinder-gardener has made that statement before as well.

Strange..... to me. 

[nessalynn77]

Hmph, sounds like you need to bring the oil to work and start laying hands!

[SirTJ]

I hear people use "emo" all of the time. It's mainly a stereotype for "gothic" kids or people who do emotional things like write poetry or "sad" songs. It's short for "emotional", obviously.

[ma1ne]

I remember seeing kids like that back in 7th grade. They used to wear like 1000 wristbands to hide the cut marks. One dude was telling me how he attempted to hang himself. Mainly white kids tho. To hear a 6 year old talk like that would hurt my heart tho. These kids are experiencing so much at a young age. Definitely a sign of the times.

[Fenix]

How are these kids having psychological issues at such an early age? 

[under13]

How are these kids having psychological issues at such an early age? 

probably because the parents ignore them.

[nessalynn77]

Some are being (or have been) molested, or abused...

The first time I met a cutter it was at the juvenile hall, I used to help do services there one Sunday a month.  We held hands for prayer at the end, and when she reached out her hand for mine, I saw those cuts all the way up her arm.  It broke my heart, she was real shy about it, but she was really responsive to the word and the prayer.  Poor kids.

[MicrophoneCheck]

Sad.  In my family we have a lot of educators and they often call me with Prayer Requests for these kids.  It's very troubling.  To think, all I did in school was play with glue.