This story by Nada Hassanein appeared on Stateline on July 28, 2026. We are sharing it slightly edited for length.
Editor’s note: If you or someone you know needs help, call or text 988, the U.S. suicide and crisis lifeline, or access online chat at 988lifeline.org.
For months, Marie’s 11-year-old daughter wasn’t acting like herself. The fifth grader was often fatigued, sleeping more. She wasn’t eating enough, and spent more time alone.
“She wasn’t really motivated to do things with her friends,” Marie said.
The Chicago girl had been overwhelmed with worry for her father, who was recovering from diabetes complications after a serious infection. She also felt intense pressure at school, aiming for straight As.
“Ever since Dad went to the hospital, it just made it more intense,” she told her mom in a written note. “I don’t know how to feel. I’m having thoughts about hurting myself. I’m tired, and afraid of death.”
Earlier this year, she told her mom she’d tried to cut herself in the bathroom, and said she was hurting herself at school.
Stateline is withholding Marie’s full name to protect her daughter’s privacy.
Marie took her to the emergency room. The ER staff tried to transfer the girl to a psychiatric facility, but several refused to take her. Most served only teenagers, while others didn’t accept her insurance plan. The emergency department team finally found a place for her at a child psychiatric facility nearly an hour away.
Marie’s daughter recently finished an intensive outpatient therapy program, and is seeing a therapist regularly.
“We were able to get her the help that she needed,” Marie said. “But a lot of the times, there’s kids that struggle and unfortunately, do end up taking their life.”
In the past several years, numerous studies have pointed to a mental health crisis among America’s youth. Much of the attention has focused on teenagers, who have higher suicide rates.
But preteens are struggling, too.
The number of preteens — ages 8 to 12 — who die by suicide in the United States each year is relatively small. But the total in 2025 was 194 — the most since at least 2001, according to preliminary data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Since 2008, the rate of preteen suicide has increased by an average of 8.2% annually, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health. Their analysis, published in 2024, found that Black preteens had the highest overall suicide rate, while girls and Hispanic preteens had the greatest percentage increase. Native American preteens also saw some of the most pronounced increases.
Suicide is complex and is often the result of a combination of factors. Talking with trusted adults and connecting kids with help can aid in prevention, and research shows most who have suicidal thoughts do not carry through with them. Mental health experts and advocates are calling for more mental health check-ins with preteens, earlier screenings and tailored interventions for Native, Black and LGBTQ+ preteens.
Jenny Britton, chief clinical officer at the Washburn Center for Children in Minneapolis, a nonprofit mental health practice, has noticed the long-term trend during her 25-year career.
“I’ve watched the age of kids who struggle with suicidal ideation and suicidality get younger and younger over that time,” she said. “Now, we’re seeing even as young as our 7- and 8-year-olds.”
Last year, the overall suicide rate in Minnesota increased by 4% compared with the year before, according to preliminary state data. But the suicide rate among children ages 10 to 14, the youngest age group included in the state’s report, more than doubled compared with the five years prior, from 2.2 per 100,000 people to 5.8.
Thousands of kids lost loved ones to COVID-19, including their parents. Children of color make up a disproportionate number of those whose caregivers were killed by the virus.
“I was hopeful that as people were able to get back to their friends and school and normalize, that that would get better, but it really hasn’t,” said Dr. Maria Hughes Rahmandar, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Council on Adolescents and Young Adults and an associate professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. “Preteens and teens are really continuing to struggle with more and more mental health concerns.”
Experts also point to other stressors for preteens, including social media use, lack of sleep, bullying both online and in person, and policies restricting gender-affirming care for trans kids that have created fear for some LGBTQ+ youth.
Jeremy Pettit, a professor of psychology at Florida International University who specializes in depression, anxiety and suicidal behaviors in children and adolescents, is studying how sleep – and screen time right before bed – relates to kids’ mental health.
“When (sleep is) disrupted, it’s bad for everything – physical health and mental health. The data are pretty clear that our kids are not getting enough sleep at night,” said Pettit, who directs FIU’s Center for Children and Families.
“We’ve got early school times in most of the country, even though the data, the research is pretty clear, it would be healthier for our kids not to have them go to school at 7 every morning,” he said.
Other experts say too much exposure to media of all kinds may also be causing kids stress.
“I think about my childhood in the ’70s and ’80s. I didn’t know all the details of shootings or a bomb going off, or you had to read about it in the newspaper or watch the news,” said Britton, of the Washburn Center for Children.
“Kids are wrestling with things differently than I wrestled with things. They know more, so they’re thinking about more.”
Experts say parents, teachers, coaches, clergy — anyone who interacts with kids — shouldn’t fear talking to them about suicide and mental health, especially if they notice withdrawal, sadness or stress.
Jamie Freeny, who was the director of the Center for School Behavioral Health at Mental Health America of Greater Houston until earlier this year, said that more elementary schools have started to ask for suicide prevention training.
“If the elementary schools are asking for it, that lets me know that there’s a reason,” said Freeny, who now works as a mental health consultant. “It’s very, very sad.”
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has resources for parents or others who frequently interact with kids, including a toolkit called “Talk Saves Lives” that offers guidelines and tips for steering such conversations.
Stateline reporter Nada Hassanein can be reached at nhassanein@stateline.org.
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