A Class VII student of a private school, the son of a top police officer of the city, committed suicide Sunday sending shockwaves across the state. It is said that the kid took the extreme step after being reprimanded by his parents. While the exact reason behind the tragedy is yet to be ascertained and investigations are on to find out whether the kid was influenced by an online game, Orissa POST spoke to a few mothers and teachers to find out their views on helping the kids deal with the huge pressures they face these days on issues such as academic performance, for example.
Sandhya Jena, principal of BJEM school, Bhubaneswar says, “I was shocked to learn that a 12-year-old has ended his life. Earlier, there have been some cases when students studying in higher classes such as 10 or 12 ended their life for various reasons. Every day I meet parents and students. Parents often pressurise their wards to do well in examinations and seek to realise their dreams through the children. This shouldn’t be the case. There are other parents who shower excessive affection on their children. As a result, the kids are unable to cope even if they are treated a little harshly by their teachers. The kids in this case can go to any extent and parents should be aware and careful about it.”
Prativa Samal, a lecturer from Bhubaneswar, says, “Kids these days are hard to understand. Therefore, it is important for the parents to always keep an eye on them and encourage them to share their problems. As a mother, I always speak to my son and ask him to share whatever problems he has. I think the parents shouldn’t overburden their kids. They should also encourage children to get involved in extracurricular activities to keep them free of stress. The coping level of every child is different, and all can’t score 100 per cent in exams. So, the role of the parents is important in comforting and supporting the child in case of failure, be it in life or academics.”
Lipika Mohapatra, a state project manager at CFAR and mother of a seven-year-old kid, feels that children these days become emotional easily as they get more attention than is required. This increases their expectations. They react violently when their expectations are not met. “This happens in the case of my son also,” she says. “As he is a single child, he doesn’t take it kindly if his needs are not fulfilled. Another thing is that the children learn everything from their parents and family members. Therefore, it is extremely important that parents set an example for their children. This apart, kids these days learn so many things from their mobile, TV and websites. These media have a huge influence on them. So, parents should be careful and check the content that their child is watching on these devices.”