Have you ever just stood in silence and thought about how at that exact moment someone on this world may be committing suicide? Unfortunately, that wouldn’t even be an accident because at every second someone may be doing it. Did you know how every 40 seconds someone decides to end their life? That is 3,000 people per year!
In this article, I want to talk to parents. Children suicide is also on the rise. Numerous parents don’t think about how their child will ever do it. Yet, it still happens.
I have a good friend and she has unfortunately lost her 13-year-old son due to suicide. She, of course, never thought about how her beloved child would ever do that. I was inspired by her to create an article and tell parents what are the signs and symptoms they should watch out for. Let’s start.
Behavior changes. This is definitely the biggest and most of the times the first sign you should watch out for. It may happen that your child suddenly becomes moody and seeks isolation. It may also happen that your child stops caring about their obligations. School grades usually drop, they bully someone or they are bullied, they argue a lot or they stay silent about everything, etc.
They will talk about suicide… so try not to ignore that, or even worse – to make jokes about that. Take seriously every sentence that somehow expresses a wish to die. Your child may also be drawing some weird things, like guns, ropes, tall buildings… Although people think this is not common, I have seen this in practice too many times.
Hurting themselves. Your daughter or son may be hurting themselves. The most common ways are cutting their arms, using some pills, and drinking alcohol. Never ignore that and be sure to seek professional help.
They have ‘new’ friends. Be sure to check with whom your child hangs out with. If you’ve had a lovely and kind son or a daughter, and if they have suddenly changed their circle of friends (for worse), that may inspire your child to do something bad even more.
Now that you have heard about the most common signs that suicidal children show, be sure to take care of some other things as well. Check out the list below:
Their environment. Children who grow up in an unhealthy environment have higher chances of committing suicide. That means families with drug abuse history, alcoholism, violence, and crime. Even their idols may be the ones to trigger their suicidal ideas.
Your child have experienced something very unpleasant. Every trauma (even a minor one) can cause suicidal thoughts within children. Be sure to comfort your child and always be there to listen to their problems.
Do you really think that people are aware of the suicide problems within children?
In what other ways can we act to prevent suicide?
