Heated discussion around the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why has been all over social media. Everyone has weighed in regarding the series...from teachers to mental health professionals to parents. Suicide, bullying, rape, consent, and substance abuse are all showcased during the series 13 episodes; these are also extremely important topics to discuss with your kids. We can't pretend that these issues don't exist within our kids' friends group or at their school in some capacity. I won't weigh in on my own thoughts (honestly, they are all over the map!), but I will share a few resources for parents who may be searching for ways to start the conversation with your kids regarding this series and the provocative topics that are shown. Regardless of how you feel about the series itself, I do believe it has been the catalyst for parents to begin talking about these issues with their kids instead of hoping they can just autopilot past them and that their kids won't be affected by them.

American Counseling Association Released this statement on their blog with various resources for parents: https://www.counseling.org/news/aca-blogs/aca-pop-culture-connection/aca-pop-culture-connection-blog/2017/05/01/new-series-on-netflix-may-glamorize-suicide-for-a-young-audience

The Jeb Foundation, a suicide prevention network, lists several talking points for parents to use during a discussion about the movie: https://www.jedfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/13RW-Talking-Points-JED-SAVE-Netflix.pdf

And finally, here is a post written by a youth minister and therapist that breaks the episodes down. https://conversationsonthefringe.com/2017/04/17/thirteen-reasons-why-discussion-guide/