13 Reasons Why

13 Reasons Why is a Netflix show based on the suicide of a high school girl, Hannah Baker. The show discusses her death, and shows how the students that knew her react after her suicide. The show has been said to romanticize and make light of suicide. Netflix just revealed that 13 Reasons Why has been renewed and will have a second season. With that being said, it is important to realize the impact that this show is having on mental health and suicide, and understand how to watch the show.

13 Reasons Why first premiered on March 30, 2017. Since the premiere, HopeLine has received more calls and texts than ever before. In April, one month after the show first premiered, there had been 709 total HopeLine interactions- 470 phone calls and 239 texts.

As a crisis intervention and suicide prevention hotline, HopeLine understands that the graphic images and difficult topics can be unsuitable for children. With a TV-MA rating, if they do watch it, parents should be willing watch with their children and provide support and guidance. While watching, parents could ask questions and have discussions to ensure that their children are fully understanding the topics shown. According to weareteachers.com, there are seven essential questions to ask when watching 13 Reasons Why with your child:

Weareteachers.com recommends discussing these questions and mental illness in general so your child understands that it's an okay topic to talk about, and that it's okay to ask for help if they ever need it. If you want to read more about HopeLine's viewpoint on 13 Reasons Why and what parents should know about the show, check out this article that WRAL wrote. It even features quotes from HopeLine's Executive Director!

*Questions from https://www.weareteachers.com/discussion-questions-13-reasons-why/