THE Philippine Psychiatric Association (PPA) has appealed to parents to be more involved in the lives of their children, especially during their teenage years, amid a series of reports of shooting and suicide of teenagers.

Dr. Bernadette Arcena, PPA publicity head, told reporters that parents have a vital role in avoiding cases of murder or suicides among youngsters. “We have to go back to the basic role of the parents. They should take care of their children. Especially at this period when the youth have their own world,” Arcena said. Parents must know or be involved in some of the activities of their children, she said.

On Tuesday afternoon a 13-year-old boy shot his 16-year-old friend before shooting himself inside a mall in Pampanga. A week before a woman also shot dead her husband inside a mall in Quezon City then tried to shoot herself but a security guard thwarted her suicide attempt. The woman accidentally fatally shot the guard.

The Natasha Goulbourn Foundation, a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization, reported on Thursday that at least one Filipino commits suicide every day because of depression.

Arcena said if teenagers—or even adults— show unusual behavior, such as sudden isolation, frequent crying, lack of focus on studies and suicidal insinuations, professional help must be extended to them.