Homepage > Thai Youth Issues > Many Children in Bangkok face family problems

BANGKOK, Jan 12 2001 (Oana-Xinhua) -- A large number of children in Bangkok are caught up in family problems and said drug abuse is rampant in their schools, The Nation daily reported today.

The newspaper quoted a survey of the Thai Farmer Research Center (TFRC) as saying that 60.2 percent of the 920 children interviewed said they had family problems, while 69.2 percent said their schools and colleges were not drug-free.

With National Children's Day to be celebrated on Saturday, Thai Farmer Research Center's (TFRC) released the results of its survey on children in the capital with the aim of assessing their attitudes towards economic, educational, political and social problems.

The research house also found that up to 67.7 percent of respondents suffered educational problems.

The survey was conducted between December 25 and December 28.

On problem of suicide, love conflicts were cited by 37.2 percent of those questioned as a reason to end their life, while 31.3 percent said family problems were the cause.

Other respondents, meanwhile, mentioned drug-related problems, financial constraints, as well as educational concerns when asked why people thought about suicides.

On the issue of what the new government should do, 38.5 percent said they wanted it to solve the country's economic woes that have hurt their families and schools.

Of the respondents, 27.7 percent thought that the drug problem should be quickly dealt with, while 11.8 percent demanded that the new government end traffic congestion. Life and asset insecurity was a major concern for 9.2 percent of the respondents.

For those remaining, pornographic material and pollution were given as their most pressing problems.

When asked about last Saturday's general election, 41.1 percent of the children surveyed said they were very interested in it, while 33.6 percent said they were quite interested. The rest, however, said they paid it no attention at all.

TFRC said the survey results showed that children in Bangkok were living under pressure due to family, love and financial problems, calling on all concerned parties to address these issues.

Meanwhile, the Mental Health Department of the Public Health Ministry was quoted as saying that Thai children should be encouraged to say "Thank You" and "Sorry," and learn to queue, saying these common practices will help them develop good social skills and emotional stability.

-- Oana-Xinhua