Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The children of the city have turned intolerant as the exam season has arrived and their parents have been advising them to concentrate on studies instead of scrolling mobile phones and minimising their screen time.
A total of 175 complaints have been lodged by the parents of the students at the child helpline number, in which their wards have been threatening to either end their lives or leave their houses, if they feel pressurised by their parents’ relentless lectures of concentrating on studies. A few teens of the city even resorted to taking the extreme steps, when their parents took away their mobile phones or tightened noose to stay away from friends during exams.
A Class 5 student residing in Trilanga is a gaming junkie and spends almost seven hours a day playing games on his mobile phone. As his exams were slated to begin in February, his mother took away his mobile phone. The student then threatened to commit suicide if his mobile phone was not returned, to which his mother did not pay heed. The child eventually slit his wrist and was rushed to a hospital. The boy survived and threatened to slit his throat the next time his mobile phone was snatched from him.
Another girl, a Class 12 student, was fond of chatting with her friends online. When her mother took away her mobile phone, she went to her friend’s place and refused to return. Finally, her mother had to give in to her demands and return her mobile phone. She threatened her parents that she will leave the home forever if they take such steps to control her.
In another such case reported on Wednesday at the child line, a kid aged 12 left home as he wanted to become a social media influencer, but his parents insisted on becoming a bookworm. They even got his social media accounts deleted, and irked over this, he stepped out of his house, but was spotted by his family’s acquaintance. The acquaintance took him home and reunited him with his parents.
Do not pressurise kids to perform on par with peers: Psychiatrist
Psychiatrist Dr Manish Borasi said that although the parents are right on their part to not cater to every demand of their children, they must not pressurise them to perform well on seeing their ward’s peers scoring well. He added that the parents must talk to their children openly and enquire about their aspirations in life.
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