Two Teenagers Commit Suicide over a TV Remote: Anger Management Issues?

School holidays are here with us and they will be long. Teenagers will be spending more time in front of screens and so will the toddlers as parents work extra hard to satisfy the home budget that is likely to skyrocket.

Here is the concern though; teenage suicide cases are likely to increase if nothing is done in counseling the current adolescents. Today’s young adults seem to have lived before us yet act like two-year-olds when it comes to throwing tantrums. They have become fully westernized in their dressing yet illiterate in their xoixoi language, active on social media platforms yet ignorant of the dangers.

Even before the first week of the holidays could end, news of a 13-year-old committing suicide in Elementaita, Nakuru, after a fight over a television remote on Monday captured my attention. The teenager apparently got so angry after her cousin failed to agree with her on which channel to watch that she chose to end her life.

Nakuru’s case comes a few months after a class six pupil from Kigumo in Murang’a County committed suicide after differing with his cousin on what channel to watch on the TV. The class six boy hang himself after the cousin switched to a vernacular station.

These cases are a clear indication that young adults need classes on anger management. They need to know a NO exists in equal measure as a YES. Below is a number of life-saving tips on how to relate with a young child and avoid them succumbing to negative energy.

Create boundaries, rules and consequences.

This should be done from an early age and internalized as the child grows. Absentee parents are likely to have it rough implementing. Absentee does not always mean physical absence; it could be emotional, where a parent never really gets quality time with their child.

Try to understand what’s behind the anger.

Spending quality time with your child will help know them enough to identify what triggers their anger and help them find healthy ways to relieve their anger.

Avoid Comparing

Puberty is different for each one and comparing your child to any other is not going to ease the situation, actually, it’s going to worsen it.

The level of hormones going through the youngsters and body change make them constantly want to seek approval. Appreciate the positive before correcting the negative could work miracles in your relationship

Give your teen space to retreat away from smart gadgets.

Give your teen space to be and reflect, away from phones, tablets, laptops, and TV, of course. Addiction to smart gadgets does not make your teenage a geek, it makes them antisocial and disconnected from reality. Implement house rules that will encourage uprightness.

Be aware of your own stress levels.

The current economic times are relatively difficult and stress levels could hit the roof added to the fatigue. Take steps to cope with your own anger, the young ones you find under your care don’t understand economic times, avoid pouring out your stress to them.