Competition pressure and stress on children starts right after their 2nd birthday.
One student, Sushant Patil, 12, was found Monday in the school’s toilet, while another student, Bajanjit Kaur, 18, was found hanging from the ceiling fan at her home in Powai and the third child, Neha Sawant, 12, was found hanging to a ceiling rod inside her apartment.
Prior to committing suicide, Kaur, a first-year student of physiotherapy D.Y. Patil Medical College in Navi Mumbai who had failed clear three subjects in her second semester exams, wrote on the wall of her room, “I have to achieve my goal by securing good marks.”
Neha had participated in three TV dance reality shows, including the famous “Boogie Woogie.” As a student of a dance academy, she excelled in different forms of dances.
A few months ago, Neha’s family had pulled her out of the academy, as they wanted her to concentrate on her studies.
This news surfaced all over the media yesterday, and chilled most of us. The parents of these children are in deep grief. The question that rose in my mind was, “was it stress, confusion, pressure or motivation?”
A child should have no reason to know the spelling of ‘suicide’, let alone to commit it. How does an 11 or even 12-year-old go through the motions involved in hanging oneself? How do their little fingers manage to tie the slip knot?
What are we doing to our kids? Why our teens are killing themselves? Reason is simple child is under pressure to perform. Parent’s attitude ‘ see what Mr. Rameshwar’s child is doing, taking so many tuition and scoring highest marks ’ is just pressurizing children to over perform. How can everyone be first?
Is the cremation of your child’s dreams more important than what society will say?
How many kids will die before Indian parents learn that let kids pursue their dreams instead of forcing their own whims on them?
Parents believe that best is what they want and they don’t realize dreams of their children. Their over burdening expectations are making children struggle to achieve things that are not in their forte. The childhood of the child is snatched in one go.
Someone has quoted well “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”Recently released movies” Tare Jamin Pe” and “3idiots “staring Amir Khan pictured the same concept very well. The only need is to adopt it.
Dr Shubhangi Parker, head of psychiatry department at KEM Hospital, said, “Parents must understand that the age group from seven- to 18 years has low levels of tolerance and gets frustrated easily. It’s also when they respond strongly to humiliation and failure.”
A study proves that 70% of urban parents force their children to take up the professions or courses they want them to, as compared to only 15% in semi urban and rural areas. Children are not provided freedom to choose their own areas of interest.Children are not allowed to do what they feel interesting.
When children don’t get success in what their parents like the system makes them believe that are not capable enough.
Our society believes that science graduates are more intellectual than arts students. Today, when alternative career opportunities like music, dance and photography are springing out and creating good financial gains, we must open up our minds and must look ahead.
We must realize that success is not pursuing the most sought after goal or profession; it is the excellence we achieve in what we are good at.
