Mother’s Cry: ‘Samrat is just a child...’
| Date :13-Oct-2023 |
By Kartik Lokhande
Time throws more questions than answers at society. While the society is grappling to find possible solutions to de-addict young men, time has thrown another challenge to face -- addiction in children! Children? Yes. Children. Here is the case of Samrat, son of a single mother, now studying in Class XII. Following divorce of his parents, Samrat is staying with his mother. Both are staying at her father’s place. The woman is a teacher. She is busy serving the commitments to her job besides her son and her father. When she was gone for the job, her son stayed at home with his grandfather. Sadly, Samrat watched his grandfather consuming liquor and overheard that he was drinking to forget the woes. A few years ago, when he was an innocent child, he first tasted beer. Then, secretly, he tasted his grandfather’s ‘brand’ of liquor. Initially, he found it repulsive. But, his emotional state made his resistance to liquor weak. Due to hyperactivity disorder, Samrat always got scolded by his mother who wanted him to be a disciplined guy. But, she could not manage to give him enough time.
In the process, Samrat felt that even when he did good, he was not getting appreciation. So, he started finding company that could offer him appreciation. He got such a company in Class IX. But, the friends were kind of bold. They enjoyed being wild, secretly having alcohol sometimes, and ‘exploring new things’. They did not mind talking about sex. On one occasion, one of his friends brought a mobile phone handset. They collectively watched a porn movie on it. Still, he appeared for Class X examination and managed to score 85 per cent marks. But, in the next class, his performance dropped fast. Meanwhile, his mother found her father’s alcoholism at intolerable levels. So, she took him to a counsellor. A counsellor treated the old man. The counselling worked, so she broached the subject of her son too as she had observed him bunking classes. Besides, his performance was dropping. To top it all, money started ‘disappearing’ from their house. As she suspected that her son was engaged in something for which he required money, she confronted him. But, she was shocked to get an angry response from her child. Later, it came out that the boy was lying and stealing money from home to meet the requirement of ‘contribution’ that his friends were supposed to make to have ‘stuff’ for enjoying ‘vape’.
According to sources, vape is a kind of e-cigarette. Vaping may be perceived as less harmful than smoking, but it is not safe. Because, vape-pens available online and at several shops in Nagpur city heat nicotine or certain flavours/chemicals to create an aerosol that one inhales. In some foreign countries, vaping has emerged as a cause of concern particularly with reference to teenagers, because several deaths and cases of lung injury have been found to be associated with vaping. “There is no way to know what kind of chemicals are used in vaping and how toxic these substances are. It is plain and simple dangerous,” said an expert. With such friends, Samrat got addicted to vaping. He used to be part of the group that would leave the school in a hurry, go to a secluded place, enjoy vape, feel high for a while, and then go home. Often, negative things come in packages. So, Samrat and his friends did not stop at vaping. They recalled utility of mobile phone handsets with ample data. Some of his friends got their own mobile phone handsets, with which they used to get a ‘peep into a different world of excitement’, that is, watching pornographic content. Samrat also watched it on friends’ mobile phone handsets, but he wanted his own phone for his convenience.
As his mother did not provide him money to buy mobile phone handset because of their financial health, he became aggressive. Scowl became a frequent feature of his face. He watched porn videos on the mobile phone handsets of his friends, and started masturbating. He got addicted to vaping and excessive masturbation. His simple teacher-mother was shell-shocked when she suspected something odd in his behaviour and looks, and discovered what he was engaging into. Single mother faces many challenges. One of those is how to talk to a young son about his deteriorating health due to excessive masturbation and watching porn content. So, she approached a counsellor and told everything about Samrat. Initially, Samrat was angry, rebellious. Gradually, thankfully, he started co-operating in counselling sessions. In the past few months, his life has taken a new positive turn. He is slowly coming out of the addictions, is sober, and focussing on his Class XII studies. For now, Samrat looks to be on the right path. Scowls are fading from his face, more than his bad company, he is focussing on his studies, and thinking about what he wishes to be in life. His mother is a bit relaxed now. She just wants Samrat to build his future well. “After all, Samrat is just a child... He will correct his mistakes,” she hopes.