Denied expression, kids go into shock, depression

The privileges that parents provide their children make them feel entitled and do not allow them to experience age- appropriate stress, which is also to blame for their inability to face real life situations over time,” observes Ms Kavita Agarwal, a career counsellor and psychotherapist in the city, giving her take on the rising trend of young people either considering suicide or attempting it in Bengaluru and other cities in the country.

In her view, when parents are over protective and provide instant gratification to their children they take away their ability to face problems. Society at large too is to blame as adolescents are often discouraged from expressing anger, jealousy and such emotions, according to her.

“Suicide should be seen as a person crying out for help and it is important that parents clarify to their children that it is okay to fall down and the important thing is to get up and move again,” she underlines. Mr Nagasimha G. Rao, president of the Child Rights Trust ( CRT), who has been counselling children and youth over the past few years in the city, says sometimes parents are not even interested in attending the sessions with their children and this speaks volumes about their attitude to their mental health.

“In most cases, the father is cold to such sessions and it’s the mother who approaches counsellors for help. Parents often forget that their children have a right to life, development, participation and protection and they lose their temper very easily with them, sending them into deep shock, isolation and then depression,” he explains.

Disturbingly, 30 per cent of the calls received by Child Rights Trust in the city are from children adamant about taking their lives, rather than discussing what is troubling them, he reveals.

Child rights activists have now approached the government to encourage schools to create forums for students to express themselves in and to create awareness among parents on the importance of being approachable to their children as they transform into adults. Interestingly, ‘ Be My Buddy,’ an annual campaign initiated by students of the Bishop Cottons Women’s Christian College in the city, encourages every student to adopt another for a year to encourage peer- to- peer interaction and help them overcome any feelings of helplessness they may have.