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By Mandy Tina
A mental health expert, Stephanie Yinkere, has advocated for a bill to be passed at the National Assembly prohibiting underage children from buying particular drugs or alcohol for their parents or guardians.
Yinkere, who is the Lead Mental Health counselor, Wumsy Cares Foundation, stated this in an interview with our correspondent, while marking the International Boy Child Day with students of the Community Secondary School, Okuruma, Port Harcourt.
She emphasized that sending children to purchase alcohol and certain drugs from the counter exposes them to drug addiction and alcoholism.
The Mental Health counselor urged federal lawmakers to come up with a bill that will stop underage children from accessing alcohol and hard drugs, stressing that it has led many children into drug abuse.
“There should be a bill prohibiting children from getting particular drugs from pharmacy or patent medicine vendor. The easiest way teenagers access these illicit drugs or alcohol is when a parent sends them to purchase it
“Abroad there are certain drugs, alcohol a child cannot buy. It’s stated there, from age eighteen (18). If the access to these drugs can be curbed, children will not be able to access it”.
Yinkere further advocated for more awareness towards the boy-child’s mental health, noting that his mental health state has been shown less concern from government, parent and the society as a whole.
She explained that the society has groomed men to hide or bottle their emotions which overtime makes them traumatise leading to emotional imbalance and other negative vices.
While calling on government, stakeholders, parents and guardians to pay more attention to the boy-child’s mental health, in order to curb the increase of mental health instability in men.
“Most of the problems that lingers into adulthood are traumas they had experienced from childhood and most of this traumas are very simple traumas that overtime become consistent and mature into adulthood. The way of expressing it now, is in violent form.
“Some of these traumas are either physical, emotional abuse, neglect from parents, ‘sexual abuse’ which is number one cause. The boy-child have been groomed not to express their feelings or show emotions on certain things, they have been shutdown from saying their mind.
“They have so many things bottled up and these things over time comes out with aggression, anger and other vices.
“We always advise parent and government to create more room for awareness. The truth of the matter is most mental health issues are not spoken about, are not been addressed and people do not talk about them.
“Men generally do not talk how they feel when it comes to mental health. They shy away from it. As government, parents, siblings whosoever, we should learn and know the signs of mental imbalance in boys.
“When you see a particular child acting a certain way, learn the signs so you could be able to know what is wrong. Know the red flags, and help the child seek professional help,” she said.
