Recently we came across a news in the morning papers that an
11 year old boy jumped from 10th floor of his building over a tiff
with his mother .
You may read the whole story here.
This shocking incidence not only compelled us to have a deep
thinking but also scared us to the core.
I avoided my 12 year son from getting hold of that
particular newspaper and also discussed it with my spouse in hush tone in
private. I feared that reading this episode might present the ghastly option of
suicide in front of a soon to be teenager because statistics show that 1 in every 100, 000 kid in between 10 – 14
years commit suicide making this number the fourth largest cause of children
dying in this age.
Of course suicide is
a topic no parent wants to contemplate but we do see glaring news of the same
very now and then . These are people like you and me , kids from friends and
family and when you come across such disturbing incidences from amongst people
you have known closely , it does send down I chill.
In today’s time we pay so much attention to all round
development of our children, their materialistic needs, educational
requirements , whims and fancies. Yet either the kids seem to have low
tolerance levels or we as parents are giving more than what is required. Even
dangerous might be that we are overlooking the obvious changes in their
behavior because we our disillusioned by being a good parent.
So please parents look out for these warning signs in
children to deal with suicidal tendencies in kids it effectively
- If you find suicide notes around the house , take them seriously
- If you hear kids threaten you with the word , you ought to hear them out for what the matter is
- Saying things like ‘ I ‘d better be dead’ or ‘ I wish I could disappear forever’
- Writing stories about death, dying or suicide
- Giving away their prized possessions to friends or siblings
- Acting secretive
- Being disinterested towards their dressing up, appearance or weight
- Drastic change in their daily routine
- Withdrawal from friends or family
- Increased self harming incidents
- Being accident prone suddenly
Being a parent you will be the best judge to take note any
such warnings. There can be many triggers to developing suicidal tendencies :
Depression being the foremost reason of the same. Kids might
get depressed owing to factors like failure in academics, high expectations from
parents , sibling rivalry , non acceptance by friends , hormonal changes.
Difficulty in distinguishing fantasy with reality . Kids get
lured by fictional characters from books or movies . They try to ape them but
fail , be it gaining the attention of a girl in the class or achieving insurmountable
success. The reality disappoints them and this may lead to development of suicidal
tendencies.
Phobias and disorders: Children may over period of time , due to circumstances ,
develop a fear of things like crowd , rejection , anxiety , loneliness . It
just might just get too much to handle all of it together. Parents should strictly
stay away from putting too much expectations and pressure on kids of this age. At times, due to hormonal changes, kids
between 10-14 years tend to become introvert. So they won’t be able to share their
feelings with you and your suggestions or scolding may have deep impact on their
mind provoking them to take the extreme step.
Conclusion
If you suspect that your teenager is suffering from
depression, talk to him. May be you don’t have to prod into the reason right
away , but just be there with him and talk a lot about things which will take
his mind away from topics that may be disturbing him.
Be gentle and offer support with any problem that he discusses
with you eventually. If they feel that you
are going to lecture them once they share their problem , it will get difficult
to get into their minds. Look back at your yester years and try to be very
compassionate towards your teenager. They are coping up with way to many issues,
so help them relax.
Dear readers , we wish the best of health and safety of your
kids.
No comments:
Post a Comment