Suicide attempt by Class IX girl student raises concern

Manav Mander
Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, October 24 

Yesterday’s incident of DAV Public School, BRS Nagar, where a Class IX student jumped from the fourth floor, has shaken teachers and parents. The incident has once again brought forward security issues at school and the need for regular counselling of students, especially teenagers.

The incidents of students taking such drastic steps have increased manifold from past few years. Today, children have less patience and since now the families are nuclear, kids are highly sensitive in nature. 

“We need to protect our children from forces that affect their psyche. Children, mostly take such drastic steps when either their teachers or parents remark badly on their behavior or performance. But the thing which nowadays is playing havoc with children’s lives is the virtual world in which they are living. This virtual world around them is created by the internet, which has given them tools such as Facebook and Whatsapp to play with emotions of each other. These things are highly dangerous as many a time, a child is not able to bear the brunt of criticism on social media,” said Ayush Chaku, a parent. 

It was the duty of parents to remind their children to share their thoughts with them or with their siblings and to make them realise that breaking of friendships should not affect their peace of mind, he added. 

Aakansha, a clinical psychologist, said: “There is no doubt that social media is playing havoc with everybody’s lives, specially the youngsters. It is the school where kids get to spend most of their time and they need regular counselling. Teenagers should be counselled regularly. There should a regular appointed counsellor at school at all times,” she said.

Parents played a pivotal role in their child’s life, she added. “Instead of being dictatorial in their behaviour, parents need to be friendly with their kids so that the kids never feel frightened to share anything with them and instead prefer to confide in them,” she said.

How can parents help teenagers

• Gain your children’s trust
• Give them space
• Try to understand that anger could be masking other emotions
• Be a role model
• Respect their different perspectives
• Listen to kids patiently without interrupting
• Spend quality time with kids