In what appears to be a case of extreme rashness, a school boy reacts violently after being chastised by his dad.
According to reports, the incident which happened in a village in India, has sent shock waves through the country as people try to wrap their heads around the reasons behind this senseless death.
The police have identified the boy as A.Gowtham, a class 12 student at a government school in Sirkazhi in Nagapattinam district, India. His father, Aadiapatham, was a retired military officer turned watchman and was serving in the CB-CID police office in Sirkazhi.
Verbal and physical abuse
The scene unfolded on Saturday when Aadiapatham scolded his son over his poor performance in school. Gowtham’s reaction was extreme as he resorted to violence, hitting his father on the head with a heavy stick before fleeing the house.
Violent reaction
Despite sustaining injuries from the beating, Aadiapatham still went to work. Upon seeing his son when he returned on Sunday afternoon, he continued his tirade and further reprimanded the boy not only for his grade but also his violent behavior. This seemed to push Gowtham over the edge and he went on to shoot his father, who died instantly.
According to police working on the case, Gowtham had confessed that he had shot his father on impulse and only realized his mistake in hindsight.
Impulsive behavior
Youth are prone to acting on impulse — they don’t think prior to acting. As can be seen from this case, such behavior can cost a life.
Communicating with your child
What is glaringly obvious in this case is a communication breakdown between father and son. Yes, the father has a right to scold his son for doing poorly in school, but why does the son react so extremely to the scolding? Did the son see the father’s reprimand as a provocation or perhaps there could be some deep-seated resentment already present in the son and the father’s chastisement was the trigger. Of course, these are assumptions and it only serves to show how important communicating with your child regularly is.
Dealing with violence
If your child ever behaves violently towards anyone including himself, alarm bells should be going off in your mind. A way to diffuse an emotionally charged situation is to avoid hostile confrontations.
A troubled teenager who is confronted, is like a wild animal that is cornered; their first line of defense might be a direct attack. Thus it is important to create an atmosphere where troubling situations are dealt with in a calm and collected manner.
If you discover your child playing truant or doing drugs, it is important to stay calm and not go ballistic. Speak to your child and explain the dangers and consequences of his or her behavior.
Ask for help
Don’t let pride stop you from asking for help if you are unable to handle your own child. In Aadiapatham’s case, he failed to deal with his son’s first act of violence and this might have caused the boy to become more daring in his subsequent actions.
Source: Scolded for poor grades, boy shoots father to death
