Parents have the sole responsibility of frequently talking to their children to give them a strong sense of belonging and teach them to relate well with the world around them.
The success of a parent is the good legacy that their children create, and a child cannot live on his/her own.
Dr Joan Githae, a marriage/family counsellor, points out that parents and guardians are the ones to blame for the rising cases of children committing suicide.
“Our children are committing suicide because of the emptiness of the mind because most parents spend much time buying goodies for their children and forget to give them important lifely advice: children should be shown purpose, create time to sit with them and show them other people that they can relate with,” said Githae.
She was speaking on Radio Citizen morning show early Monday and insisted that parents should not force their children to produce what they cannot produce, but instead children should be given ample time and environment to do what they are good at.
Dr Githae was reacting to two incidents where a student reportedly committed suicide in Butere girls high school and a standard seven boy who also hanged himself in Kandara sub-county a fortnight ago after his teacher told him not to go to school with plastic shoes.
“These children must be taught problem-solving skills frequently to avoid being frustrated when unexpected things happen to them and also let children interact with their friends, but make follow up to ensure they interact only with good company,” she added.
Dr Githae emphasised the need for having suicidal prevention strategies that should be coordinated between parents, teachers, and professional counsellors alongside all relevant stakeholders.
She said that such strategies would prevent our children from committing suicide.