Myths Surrounding Childhood Suicide

Issues related to childhood suicide will be introduced with included elements from Piaget’s developmental theory, myths surrounding childhood suicide, childhood depression, and potential treatments options to inform about the importance of childhood suicide and how to prevent it. Suicide is a disheartening reality that affects a lot of young people. Childhood suicide is underestimated because of the idea of childhood as being perfect. Most people see childhood as a carefree life filled with endless fun and imagination and very little responsibility. So because of this preconceived notion about childhood, most people are baffled by the number of child suicide cases --- third in leading causes of death amongst young children. Most people

So there are many myths that come with childhood suicide. These myths that accompany child suicide limit the ability to conquer these devastating circumstances. Most myths or assumptions made about childhood suicide include the belief that children do not completely understand the permanence of death and that depression cannot occur until adolescence. With regards to depression, Freud elaborated on the subject saying that it is stemmed from a “diseased superego”. He also suggests that depression is a result of grievances related to unresolved parental attachments. Another myth that is highly presumed is that children under the age of six don’t commit suicide. Lots of children learn from their surroundings just how to commit suicide and why. Along with the already long list of myths regarding suicide is the myth that the lack of weapons within reach can help limit the child’s resources to commit suicide. To some extent that may be true but weapons are not the only way kids commit suicide, methods like drugs or toxic concoctions are only a few non weapon methods used in childhood

There are many factors that contribute towards suicide like: parental substance abuse, divorce, overprotective or perfectionist parents, abuse, and rejection. In addition to depression, specific motivations surrounding childhood suicide still puzzle experts. A suicidal child tends to be hypersensitive, depressed, anxious, and angry. Usual motivations generally couple with a specific triggers revolving around the child's perception that he or she received undue punishment over a particular event. Oftentimes motivation can come from means to reunite with beloved ones in a mysterious fantasy land created in their mind by parents that explain death in celestial terms as: “mommy is in heaven now or “grandpa is smiling at you from the