Written by: Aayusi Shrestha - 26002, Grade X
Posted on: 02 May, 2022
I think every parent wants their children to be successful and live a long, healthy life. Life comes with obstacles, so there’s no way an individual can always be happy and healthy. Some of the life obstacles are created by parents themselves. Parents care about their child’s physical health a lot but it is found in a lot of cases that they neglect their mental health. In this generation any age of people can be diagnosed with mental illness.
Mental illnesses are the health conditions which involve changes in behavior, emotion, thinking, or even a combination of these. In Nepal if a person is open about their mental health then they blame the victim and call them words like ‘pagal’. Many parents keep their children in stressful situations that make them feel anxious, useless, or humiliated. Family relationships can affect mental health and behavior. Trauma affects mental health and can hamper brain development. Trauma can be caused by the smallest things like parents scolding you in public to a greater extent: abuse. Mental health needs attention. Little children are using the words suicide and committing it too. In Nepal, family problems are really common which is one of the things that affect mental health. Taking an example, if my parents fight on a daily basis which can get physical sometimes then that can make me traumatized for the rest of my life, I may start getting diagnosed with depression or anxiety disorders. If a child is not doing good at studies then parents will compare them to others and pressurize them to do better. Stress can worsen mental health. Comparing children to others is not a good choice, this can make them feel worthless. One of the reasons parents keep scolding their children is because they feel superior. They may not realize it but they feel like they are always right because they are older and are our ‘parents’. Some of the things parents do that ruin kids mental health are yelling at them, not understanding them, only noticing your mistakes, pointing out insecurities, etc. In this few years suicide rate have increased and most of them were teens. People say suicide is not the option and it is stupid and I don’t agree on that. Suicide is not the solution but we don’t know how much a person is suffering and maybe wants all their pain to end. Parents not accepting their children's sexuality and caring about what the society says more than the kids mental health is absolutely stupid. If a kid gets diagnosed with a mental health disorder then instead of scolding them and making it worse parents can suggest they get some therapy and comfort them instead.
In conclusion, parents can affect their children’s mental health in a lot of ways. Parents are not the only ones to blame but they should be aware if their children are really doing okay. Mental health should be taken seriously whether it’s by parents or the society. Mental health is not a joke and we should spread awareness about it. Sit and talk about it, remove the stigma that surrounds it.
