Parents urged to keep eye on children using internet

LAHORE:Young children should never be left unsupervised while using the internet as the same can lead to various kinds of behavioural and psychiatric disorders among them.

The problem multiplies for families especially in countries like Pakistan where there is dearth of trained psychiatrists and psychologists to treat children suffering from such mental illnesses. A noted Pakistani-American psychiatrist Dr Rizwan Malik, who is in the country these days, said this while talking to The News.

A certified child, adult and adolescent psychiatrist, Dr Rizwan sees family as the first preventive unit against various psychiatric disorders among children and strongly recommends parental supervision of children using smart phones and computers.

“The internet is a blessing too but it needs extreme care to use. Awareness is the first part of treatment and this begins from home,” he added. Dr Malik said unsupervised online interaction of children could lead them to bipolar and mood disorders, anxiety, depression and violent behaviour while they could also fall prey to cyber bullying or get involved in bullying other children online. “Therefore, parents have a great responsibility and they should keep an eye on their children,” he added. Talking about the initial symptoms of behavioural and psychiatric disorders among children, Dr Rizwan Malik said such children stop social interaction, become shy; develop inner anger and obsession and start avoiding schools etc. “Parents of such children should immediately consult child physiatrists or psychologists instead of ignoring because this will only add to their problems at the later stage,” he stressed.

Dr Rizwan Malik, Diplomate American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology, went on to say that it was a dilemma that in countries like Pakistan behavioural and psychiatric disorders were not taken as seriously as other medical illnesses. “Also people tend to keep psychiatric disorders or such patients secret or in cases prefer spiritual healing of the patients,” he said and added they must come forward and consult the specialists as behavioural and psychiatric disorders were actually illnesses and are treatable diseases. “The key to remove taboos around psychiatric disorders is awareness,” he added. About the dearth of trained psychiatrists, Dr Rizwan Malik said even developed countries were facing the shortage of trained practitioners. “For every 100,000 children in United States there is just one psychiatrist available,” he said and added the problem was gigantic in developing countries like Pakistan. According to him, a problematic home environment and parents frequently quarrelling leave a very bad impact on a child and lead to develop psychiatric disorders among children. Dr Malik said children, adolescents and adults struggling with various psychiatric and behavioural problems; should not be left isolated. He added if ignored such individuals could become easy prey for substance use disorders. Expressing his concern about growing drug abuse among youths, he said there was need to put concerted efforts to curb this menace and immediate treatment of those affected. According to Dr Rizwan Malik, autism is becoming more and more prevalent in many parts of the world, including Pakistan. “In Pakistan, there are thousands of children who struggle with autism while there are not enough resources and centres to pay attention for the treatment,” he added. Children struggling with autism have issues with their speech, language and social reciprocity and as they grow older they suffer from various behavioural issues such as aggression, social isolation, social anxiety, obsessional behaviours and depression. “My aim is to initiate a project for autism awareness in Pakistan,” he added. “The media has a very important role in creating awareness among the masses about behavioural disorders and subsequent therapies and treatment available to build a healthy society”, he concluded.