It has been reported that 24 children under the age of 14 committed suicide this year in Kathmandu alone. Police investigations have found that kids take to self-destructive tendencies and ultimately end their lives especially when their petty demands are not met or if they flunk in examinations. Also, children who come from broken homes or those living in a violent atmosphere are more prone to committing suicides. According to a Valley Police Office report, “frustration, poverty, mental disorder, failures in love” are some of the major reasons that drive people to commit suicide. Approximately 125 men and 90 women killed themselves in Kathmandu this year.

Meanwhile, various reports have also brought to light that the percentage of suicide is high among city dwellers. Out of the 239 suicide cases this year, 10.4 per cent of the people who committed suicide were from Kathmandu. No child under 14 years of age took to suicide in Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts this year. Criminologists and psychologists claim that urbanisation, soaring ambitions of children, development of technology and suicide news are driving children to commit suicide. If on the one hand, high competition and exposure to uncensored movies and news are taking their toll on the lives of the innocent children, on the other, given the fast pace of people’s lives today, parents are not spending quality time with their children. This has resulted in the parents knowing not much about their child’s problems and activities. Kids are thus compelled to lead a frustrated and isolated life.

It is extremely important for the parents to pay enough attention to their children’s activities. Parental guidance is the most important factor in a child’s life. At the same time, the State should ensure that all sorts of physical and mental torture, abuse and domestic violence, especially against young girls, are brought to an end through stringent legal measures. Any kind of torture for a long period of time can lead to mental disability among children. In one such recent case, three girls of age ten, four and six, who were taken captive by a deranged man, were physically tortured and as a result of which are now suffering from serious mental disorder. It is the responsibility of every good citizen to ensure a safe and healthy environment for the children to grow.