Source: Hindustan Times
NEW DELHI, INDIA, JANUARY 16, 2002: The suicide of an eight-year-old boy in Delhi on Sunday brings to light the rising levels of stress and depression among young children in urban India. Huge parental expectations, rising levels of competition, examination pressure and a break down of traditional family structures, are some of the contributing factors affecting children as young as 7 or 8. Sushma Mehrotra, a reader in clinical psychology at Mumbai’s SNDT University and a practicing psychotherapist blames the parents. “You will not believe the pressures some kids are subjected to. They’re shunted from one class to another,” she says. In other cases, parental conflicts bring on their own set of problems and pressure on young children. “Parents don’t get along and then compete with each other by either giving too much attention or too much money,” says Mehrotra. Her advise is to not give your child too many gifts. Spend more time with your child. Get to know their friends and their parents. Instill good values, particularly in the formative years.