Why are Kids Committing Suicides Due to COVID-19?

According to a Children Society’s research, one in every four girls in the UK are self-harming. There are plenty of reasons leading up to this act but mainly it is the pressure to be a part of society. This might seem like a piece of bleak news for a certain region but it is observed that this is becoming an epidemic and it is now more serious. The study estimated that around 110,000 children are self-harming including boys and girls in the UK. But that number has increased now and the parents need to be alarmed about the situation.

Experts share the opinion that it is worrying to see children so much unhappy with their lives and looking at their mental health makes it even more intense. When it was studied deeply, it was seen there were several issues involved with the suicidal thoughts of teens such as:

• They were not happy about their appearances and life as a whole
• They received some hateful comments and jokes that were unbearable for them
• People made fun of their sexual activities
• They were simply depressed

Experts say that self-harming behavior is in itself a coping mechanism to the changing environment and unacceptable things. They do it in response to not being heard or not being able to take their place in society. Teens are too emotional to react to a certain issue logically, they adapt the ways that they find easy and suicide is one of them.

Though the research about one in every four girls in the UK being self-harming is two years old, it is still happening now. Some issues are still the same and there are several other things added to make life miserable for the kids. For instance, kids are fed up with the lockdown and isolation that is set in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Let’s take a look at this case where a 16-year-old boy took his life after struggling with the pandemic.

His father came out and shed some light on the issues teens are facing these days and they are all stressed out and frustrated. This is observed that the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the mental health of young people.

Smith, the father of the young boy said, "We knew he was upset because he was no longer able to participate in his school activities and football. We never guessed it was this bad. Looking back now we could see little things that we should have caught but we didn't realize his mental health was deteriorating as bad."

They say that it is very important to see if your child is showing some changes in behavior and not feeling alright. At the right time, children should be taken to the help and things should be resolved. 

In another case, an 11-year-old boy took his life during the online class, see the full report here:

It was confirmed that this boy was in his Zoom class with this microphone on and camera off when he took his life. His sister found him and alerted everyone. Mental health issues were going on with him and nobody noticed. If he had been taken to professional help at the right time, things would have been better. It is time that we make our kids realize that they can get help whenever necessary. 

How to Take Care of The Mental Health of Our Kids in This Pandemic?

COVID pandemic has gotten to the best of us. Some have lost their loved ones, those who are staying at home due to lockdown, and those who have to go out but with proper precautions. Though COVID has affected all of us, we have ignored our kids somewhere. Schools are closed, they cannot meet their friends, and the only social life they have is limited to smartphones only. Parents think that their kids are enjoying themselves while they don’t have to go to school, but in fact, a lot is going on that they are ignoring. Parents need to be more aware of the changes happening in their kids. Mistakes like these result in the news highlighted mentioned above. Here are some things that can be done by the parents to make sure their kids are mentally healthy:

Sleeping Habits

Sleeping habits are the most common things to watch for when looking for unusual changes in your kids. When they are stressed, frustrated, worried, or anxious, first of all, their sleep patterns will change and you will see that either they are over-sleeping or they are not having proper sleep. Either way, you need to ask them and make sure you know what is going on. 

Keeping an Eye on Their Smartphone Activities

Smartphones are meant to bring entertainment and these are the only things that are with your kids these days. They can connect with their friends, know about the world, and keep themselves updated through social media but there are things related to it that can be proven dangerous. Wrongful comments, dangerous chats, and strangers can make this difficult time more difficult for the kids. That is why parents need to keep an eye on their kids. But, how can you do it? 

Mobistealth is the best tracking and social media monitoring apps that can help you with keeping an eye on your kids, knowing what they are up to, what is bothering them on social media, if they are being bullied, or if there is something that is making them stressed out. Since there are a lot of things on social media that are making the kids do self-harm activities, Mobistealth can help you deal with these things right away.

Behavioral Issues

It is not possible that a kid who is thinking about suicide can behave perfectly normally. There are things that you can notice in their behavior that show that something is going on with them. These minor things can give you a hint, and once you start asking them, things can unfold thus leading to a much better situation than suicide. 

Teens are unpredictable but if you know how to treat them nicely, you can provide them the help they need before they go and do something very dangerous. Open communication with your kids and monitoring their social media activities can keep them safe online.

Know more about the stories mentioned above:

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/29/health/uk-children-self-harm-report-intl/index.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/24/us/politics/student-suicides-nevada-coronavirus.html