Teen violence is on the rise this is no surprise to most.

As parents we are constantly faced with anxiety every time we drop them off at school. We have seen the news and watched as innocent children were needlessly killed.

So what causes children to retreat to using weapons?

Some experts say it is from television, some say it's from video games and others think the problem lies at home.

Since the Internet boom weapons are more readily accessible to teens, irresponsible web site owners are partly to blame.

Gone are the days of fist fights, today's teens draw knives and even guns to solve their problems. It has turned into a "can't beat em, might as well join em" attitude. Lower income urban areas are known for high violence rates but it's so hard to pass judgment on these kids, if you were shot at weekly wouldn't you want to protect yourself?

I am not condoning using weapons but merely trying to shed light on a very real problem.

So how do we keep them from using weapons?

- Education. We need to teach teens a better way to deal with their problems.
- Stricter Penalties to gun stores, online and offline who sell these weapons.
- Stricter penalties to teens that are caught with a weapon set an example.

Anonymous School hotline - Every high school in America should have a school hotline number where students can call in and report suicide threats, those carrying weapons and school killing threats.

Students might be more inclined to report these behaviors if they knew their names weren't attached.

The best we can do as parents is teaching our own kids not to revert to using weapons.
We are still at the mercy of other people's kids and until some things change we will worry every time they walk out that door.

Learn more about this author, Isabella.
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