Pencil sharpeners are seemingly innocent enough. Brightly coloured casing, even given to small children... for "school" use. 

 

But there's a rarely acknowledged dark side to them, too: Pencil sharpeners are notorious amongst the adolescent population. The blades are easy to extract, and as school stationery they are highly accessible to youth. This needs to change.

If you're not convinced, think: 

• Brutal school attacks
• Careless or playful use by younger children

But, worst of all, our children are harming themselves. It's a very serious issue that is highly prevalent amongst students, typically in middle school and early high school/college. Estimates range from somewhere between 15 and 40% of adolescents who have self-injured. 

Pencil sharpener self-harm often starts as a 'safe' (NOT safe) way of injuring oneself, due to the fact that it has a 'small' (NOT small) blade. It can still do serious damage, requiring stitches and/or causing severe blood loss. Pencil sharpener blades are easily concealed (unlike, say, scissors), and that means that your own child can hide their blades from you. 

And these things are like wildfires: They escalate quickly, beyond your control. One spark can start a blaze.

Pencil sharpeners one day. Knives the next.

 

We need tighter restrictions. Razors and other blades have limits on the sale for minors (under 18). Or alternatively, we should at least demand that they are manufactured safely with blades that are HARD TO EXTRACT. Too many pencil sharpeners are made with weak plastics that are easy to smash/have easily removable blades.

 

I've seen a few other petitions for this, but most of them are inactive; yet this still remains an issue.

 

Please, help our kids. They are struggling.

Sign this if you care.