“Life Skills”: A Way to Curb Mental Health Issues and Suicide among Children

Anyone can run away, because that’s easy. Facing problems and working through them: that’s what makes one strong.

Young or old, problems are something we face all the time. But when children have problems, we worry if they have what it takes to handle them. In the early stages of life, children acquire skills by observing the world around them. Naturally, this means parents are often their first role models.

Having said that, can the education system help to sharpen problem-solving skills among school children? Studies show that if a child learns to solve problems at a young age, she may learn not to avoid tough situations. Instead, she may try to reason the ways to resolve them wisely.

This is why I believe our education system should introduce a subject called “Life Skills” to help children think rationally. And the reason this should be a stand-alone subject is to emphasise its importance: children these days are often unable to deal with problems when they don’t understand repercussions and are quickly swallowed by emotions.

As a mother, I am often disturbed by reports of suicides among young children. In July, UNICEF reported that 872 young people in Malaysia had committed suicide from January 2019 to May 2021, with children aged 15 to 18 comprising 51% of the 1,708 suicide cases during this period. Statistics show that adolescence, the crucial transitional stage from childhood to adulthood, is when most individuals face mental health challenges.

So, the question here is: What drives these individuals to take their own lives? Let’s talk about some of the main reasons.

Depression

According to the National Health and Morbidity Survey, one in five Malaysian adolescents suffer from depression. Many have had negative experiences or poor self-esteem because they are unhappy with the way they look, don’t fit in, or suffer from bullying. Cyberbullying is also on the rise: three out of 10 young people in Malaysia are said to be cyber-bullied every day.

Words are powerful and can torment one to the point of suicide. Being the victim or witness of violence, physical or sexual abuse is also another reason for depression.

Anxiety

WHO reported in 2013 that one in 13 individuals globally suffers from anxiety. The most common mental disorder worldwide, anxiety is the feeling we get when faced with an unpredictable future, like an upcoming exam. Feeling anxious occasionally is normal, but constantly feeling anxious can interfere with our daily existence. Someone can be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder if external or internal stimuli produce disproportionate anxiety that leads to intense distress or significant impairment of functioning.

Stress

Stress is simply defined as a threat that poses a challenge to our well-being. When things don’t work out as we plan, the result is often stress. Children are often not prepared for future demands, such as in their academic and social lives, and this ultimately leads to mental health problems.

In conclusion

Suicide prevention among youths is a problem in Malaysia due to the lack of a comprehensive suicide prevention strategy. At present, most schools have an assigned counsellor who will reach out to students, but this only happens when problems surface. At times, counselling can even come a little too late. So, I think the Ministry of Education and schools need to do a lot more to help.

One of the possible options is a more comprehensive approach to promote emotional well-being and connectedness among students. The suggested “Life Skills” subject should be introduced as early as possible, and include content that can help students understand that problems will always exist but one must think rationally when facing them. Topics should vary to suit different age groups, but critical thinking, reasoning, decision-making, and communication skills must be prioritised.

This is not a means for parents to shift their responsibility to the schools. Parents must always play their part but this is an additional step to curb mental health issues among students.

Gahya Pandian, 38, is a business development consultant from Ampang and mother of three children. She is a learner in the Bachelor of Psychology programme.

By Gahya Pandian