A 13-year-old boy committed suicide after losing ₹40,000 in an online game in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh, police informed on Saturday.
A suicide note has been recovered by the police, allegedly written by the boy in which he apologized to his parents for spending ₹40,000 from his mother’s bank account while playing an online game called Free Fire. Sachin Sharma, superintendent of police Chhatarpur, according to the note, the boy was depressed as he continued to lose money.
“The boy’s father runs a pathology lab while his mother works in the district hospital’s pathology department. On Friday, the mother was at the hospital when she received a message notifying her of a transaction of ₹1,500, done from her account. She scolded her son over the phone for spending money on the online game. Later, the boy went to his room and hanged himself. The boy’s elder sister, who first saw him, called the parents. The boy was rushed to a district hospital where he was declared brought dead by doctors,” Sharma said.
Police are investigating if he was himself spending money on the game or if someone else was threatening him for money.
Know how Lack of physical activities and online games taking toll on mental health of children During Covid
Children and young teenagers have had to deal with these dark times very early in their life. This tends to make a person more anxious about things. Challenging time in one’s life can have long-term effects on them. Adults tend to forget that they have a sense of the world and have their fair share of experiences, but their children have not really had any experiences, to begin with, said Dr. Lini Balakrishnan, Consultant Paediatrician, Motherhood Hospitals, Sarjapur, Bangalore.
She says, with so much happening around them, children might be inclined to feel that the world is a dangerous place for them. They might start thinking that their defence is only to be defensive or be furious. Stress, anxiety, and insecurity might start controlling their life.
Encourage Kids To Communicate During COVID To Minimise Negative Impact, Suggests AIIMS Doctor
Unlike adults, children react differently in stressful situations. Some children become clingy, some are withdrawn, some become aggressive, some depressed. So, it is difficult to understand the mental state of children. What we know is the fact that the surrounding environment affects the emotion or moods of children. At times, children internalise a situation. Panic, illness, or death of near and dear ones can affect them adversely and at times, they may not be able to express their fears, anxiety, or worries, said Dr. Rajesh Sagar, Professor, Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi and Member, Central Mental Health Authority Recently.
So, it is important for adults to keep a watch on the behaviour of children. During the current crisis, it is also important that adults encourage children to communicate their views, and perspectives on various issues related to them. For children to be able to express themselves clearly, they must be provided with an enabling environment. If they are unable to talk, they can be encouraged to express themselves through drawing, paintings, and other mediums. The impact of the pandemic on children cannot be addressed with direct questions; caregivers need to be gentle while communicating with children as they may be unaware of what is happening to them internally. So, it is important to encourage usage of creative ways in understanding them but communicate directly when discussing difficult topics, like infection, death, and so on.
