Scolding and condemning children before they can even explain themselves is creating stress and resentment towards their loved ones. Ignoring their positive and negative behaviours is pushing them towards depression.
Udaipur: Scolding and condemning children before they have a chance to explain themselves is creating stress and resentment in children. Ignoring their positive and negative behaviours leads to depression.
Furthermore, restricting children from playing with others, and teachers targeting them at school for poor academic performance are pushing children into depression. Sometimes, these children even resort to suicide. This reality has emerged during counselling sessions at the Ujala Clinic, run at the RNT Medical College's paediatric hospital.
Looking at the clinic's data over two years, research was conducted on 6,000 stressed adolescents (children aged 10 to 14) at the paediatric hospital. Most children underwent counselling after two to three check-ups. During this time, the children revealed several reasons directly linked to their parents.
Counsellor Vinod Kumari and Dr. Anuradha Sanadiya's team also investigated the children's families. Most children came from single-parent families. The number of children from joint families was negligible, but those with interaction with grandparents were generally normal.
A student was hospitalised due to repeated chest pain. Three check-ups revealed normal reports. Counselling revealed that he felt targeted by a teacher at school. He tried to tell his family several times, but no one listened, leading to his stress.
A female student came into contact with outsider students living in the neighbourhood. These students got her addicted to drugs. She then started stealing money from home and lying to get money for drugs. Her family never paid attention to her actions. She attempted suicide when she couldn't get drugs.
1. Being targeted and repeatedly reprimanded by teachers at school
2. Being teased and mocked by fellow students at school
3. Not being listened to by parents at home
4. Parents quarrelling over trivial matters at home
5. Not being allowed to go outside to play
6. Being constantly reprimanded for minor things
1. Being reprimanded for mobile phone addiction
2. Loneliness, drug addiction, exam stress
3. Being forced to pursue subjects they dislike by their parents
4. Family members having love affairs
Rapid heartbeat, difficulty breathing, trembling hands and feet, anxiety, sleep problems, dry mouth, nausea, chest pain, and tingling in the body.
In February 2024, adolescents in classes 10 and 12 attempted suicide most frequently due to stress. Cases of love affairs also increased during this month. It was found that during this time, exam preparation caused adolescents to stop going out, and when their families reprimanded them, they attempted suicide.
Parents always expect their children to be top performers, which also puts children under stress. Restricting mobile phone use is fine, but parents should first control their mobile phone usage and give their children time. This is especially important during exam time.
-Dr. Suresh Gochar, Professor and Head, Department of Psychiatry