RALEIGH -- Death rates for 10-to-14-year-old children in 2012 are higher than in previous years, according to a government statistics report. Child Fatality Task Force Executive Director Elizabeth Hudgins says the suicide numbers are drawing increased attention.

Hudgins said, "The suicide increase is particularly concerning. It's a two-year increase. And it shows that something, for some of these children, is going very awry in their lives."

Hudgins added that having positive one-on-one relationships with adults is a key for children entering teenage years. Both infant and child mortality rates rose in 2012, but both rates are significantly lower than previous decades.