Sofia Rana
Preventing suicidal rates and depression in young and teenage children …… (Life is beautiful and it’s a blessing)
After cancer and heart disease , suicide accounts for more years of life lost than any other cause of death in India. About 46,000 suicides occurred each in 13-29 and 30-44 age groups or about 34% each of all suicides. Poisoning (33%), hanging (31%) and self-immolation (9%) were the primary methods used to commit suicide.
The truth about suicide among young children is that too little is known about it. There are several factors. To top it all is that both parents are working and they hardly spend any time with their growing up children. This leads to disruptive behavior in young children. Their day to day issues and grievances when not addressed properly creates low esteem and their confidence level goes down which causes traumatic after effects to their young minds. Higher expectations from school going children from pushy parents is another major factor. Parents nowadays keep pressurizing children for good results in academics as well as other co curricular activities which they have joined. Without even realizing that God has made everyone different and all the children have different capabilities, not even two siblings from same mother are the same. So, how can we expect children to excel in all fields? Of course!! Not all children are ready to learn the same thing at the same time in the same way. Never compare children and make them feel inadequate,rather encourage and applaud each time they try. The child must never be forced to try too hard or associate failure with guilt. It can lead to low self esteem which might be one of the main reasons of depression in later stages. We have to give our children wings to fly and take to the skies.
They must be free to live their own dreams rather than expect them to live ours. Parents are child’s first teachers and they have pivot role in shaping up the young mind of child and providing them right kind of stimuli from the moment of birth. After all these young ones are the ones who are going to represent their society and it’s so rightly said that within the living room of every household are united the basic elements of all true human education in its whole range. So as a parent, try to find out positive things in your child. Motivate them so that there confidence level increases and automatically children will share the issues concerning them on regular basis. Become a role model because children need model more than they need critics. Parent and teacher together can change a life of child with just love, affection and feeling of security. Yes, we are with you no matter what happens. Avoid being a ‘Do as I say , not as I do ‘ parent . We need to groom them into a fine citizen by adopting multiple intelligence approach for finding their inner strengths and providing them ample scope to exhibit their multi faceted talents which can be in any form ( sports , dance , theatre , art , music , good in writing skills , speaking skills ) we as parents and educationist can provide children excellent platforms to connect with their intrinsic talents. These kinds of activities will play a role of morale boosters for young minds . When child or a teenage has high confidence, feeling of depression or low esteem will never emerge in their minds which in return will improve their academics as well over all personality will have uplift. Regular counseling from parents as well as teachers can be very effective and it plays very important role in the life of children by elevating their self image and inner strength who tend to have depressing thoughts. Most important of all – make sure they are secure in the knowledge of your love and care.
Greatest fear a child can have is that he is not loved and to top it all rejection is the hell he dreads. One should not hesitate to visit good psychiatrist because there are some issues which might be not in control of parents or teachers, and at this stage you must ensure that no child enters the hell of depression which can be fatal. So prevention is better than cure. Still, past research has noted some stand-out facts. Boys commit suicide much more often than girls, and preteen kids who have attempted suicide are up to six times more likely to attempt it again once they reach their teens. The risk factors for teen-aged girls include depression and mood disorders. So this time, parents have to play a role of a friend as well as a mentor with whom teenager feels secure while sharing the problems and issues of depressing thoughts. As a parent and as educationist, we have to make our children responsible citizens of society which can only be possible if we imbibe in them self confidence and self trust . We must not worry about what a child will become tomorrow or get obsessed with. Thus parent as well as educationist we have a very crucial role in giving opportunity to children by helping them to develop physical independence, discipline, tolerance and to grow physically, emotionally, socially and mentally sound and responsible citizen.
As Kathey Walker has rightly said ‘ An education is all about the whole child , self esteem , resilience , awareness of the world . It is just not being schooled and reciting the alphabet’. Since I m in the profession of teaching and have a privilege of raising the next generation, we do face mostly one or the other issues related to several problems which badly affects the young and teen children. One has to be very alert and observant to redress the problems faced by them.
With our expertise, experience and timely action we can prevent suicidal cases to quite some extent. I am sure that as I am sharing my experience and thoughts as a teacher, educator and a mother it will be of some use to the reader.
(The author is an educationist)
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