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  • 2 days ago
Concerns are mounting over the mental health of children in Trinidad and Tobago, following troubling new data from Childline TT.

The figures point to a significant increase in suicidal thoughts among young people, prompting renewed calls for urgent intervention, stronger support services, and legislative action, including measures to address the impact of social media.

Sharla Kistow has more.
Transcript
00:00Alarming figures released by Chilang-Titi are shedding light on what advocates describe as a growing mental health crisis among children.
00:08Chair of Chilang-Titi, Isolde Alligant, revealed that between 2020 and 2025,
00:14the organization received more than 1,500 calls and messages related to suicidal ideation, all from children under the age of 17.
00:23She says the data underscores the urgent need for structured support once emotional distress is identified.
00:30What we need are resources to assist once distress has been identified,
00:37and this includes counseling services, family-based supports, school-based interventions,
00:42trauma-informed responses across all systems in our nation.
00:47She also outlined the warning signs parents, teachers, and the caregivers should watch for,
00:53noting that behavioral changes are often early indicators of deeper emotional challenge.
00:58Red flags, I think that is important to note, would include a change in behaviors,
01:10rapid emotional escalation, withdrawal, irritability, conflicts with peers,
01:19changes in the way a child would engage at school, including decline in grades,
01:24expressions of hopelessness, or even apathy.
01:28I don't know, I don't care, doesn't bother me, where they just exist in a kind of situation.
01:39Meanwhile, consultant to the Samaritan Movement, Rev. Dr. Gerald J. Magoon,
01:45described the figures as unprecedented, warning that the country is facing a national crisis.
01:50Suicidality and the rates of suicidality are staggering.
01:54When 40% of your children are saying they're thinking about suicide,
02:00my God, people of God, we are in a crisis.
02:04This is astronomical numbers that have not been seen in any of the data.
02:10That it is validated by the work of Childline and Lifeline,
02:15that it is validated by objective data, means that we now need to speak openly and quite honestly
02:24about this immediate symptom of a bigger issue that has been described by Vanessa and Isolde
02:33and will be described by His Grace, that the system really needs addressing.
02:39Adding to the discussion, Catholic Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon is calling for legislative action
02:45to restrict children's access to social media.
02:48He argues that even technology executives have acknowledged that platforms are intentionally designed
02:54to be addictive and is urging the government to consider measures similar to Australia's,
02:59which bans social media use for children under a specific age.
03:03I will propose that social media is far more addictive than alcohol.
03:09In testimony in Congress, the giants and the leaders of tech said we create the algorithm
03:18specifically to create long-lasting media exposure and engagement
03:27and to bring the person back the next time and the next time and the next time.
03:32They've created it to be addictive.
03:37I think following Australia, and many countries are looking at that now,
03:42we should be looking at a law to protect our children from social media
03:48the same way we're protecting them from alcohol.
03:52Stakeholders agree that addressing the crisis will require coordinated action from families,
03:57schools, policy makers and mental health professionals
04:00to safeguard the well-being of the nation's children.
04:04Charlotte Kisto, TV6 News.
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