“I held him in my arms the night he died. I did what no father should ever have to do, and every time I close my eyes, I see him.” These heartbreaking words are those of a father. That of Sammy Teusch, who in May 2024, put an end to his suffering by killing himself. He was only 10 years old then.
A child being bullied, adults who remain silent
For his parents, however, the tragedy is not so surprising. Sammy was not morose, but on the contrary full of passions. On the other hand, at school, he becomes the regular target of harassment. “At first they made fun of him because of his glasses, then his teeth. That lasted a long time”tells his dad New York Post. The mockery, initially “innocent”, degenerates. Sammy is then beaten on the school bus, his glasses broken.
The parents claim to have alerted the school around twenty times. In vain. “We tried everything. We called, wrote, asked for help. Nobody listened to us.” supports the bruised dad today.
Child suicide, a crumbling taboo
If the story of Sammy, who died at just 10 years old, chills us, it is nevertheless not an exception. Every year, around thirty children under the age of 13 commit suicide in France, according to the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm). A figure that experts consider largely underestimated, because many child deaths are recorded as “domestic accidents” or “dangerous games”.
According to a national survey published in 2023, 4 to 6% of students, from CE2 to Terminale, report being victims of harassment. This represents more than one student per class. “We are seeing in our department a rejuvenation of young people in distress. 20 years ago, the average age of young people hospitalized was 17-18 years old. Today, it is more 14-15 years old” observed psychiatrist Xavier Pommereau, director of the Aquitaine Adolescent Center at Bordeaux University Hospital in one of our articles.
According to him, the boundary between childhood and adolescence is gradually disappearing. Which can also lead to premature behavior. And scary. “Of course they are aware of death. Today, young people are over-informed about sex and death. The things our generation discovered as teenagers, they already know about them before the age of 10.”
But this “early adolescence”, shaped by screens, hyperconnection and constant comparison, exposes the youngest to psychological violence the extent of which they do not always understand.
3 reasons that push a child to act out
For Professor Michel Debout, psychiatrist and author of several reports on suicide, we must stop believing that children are incapable of such actions. According to him, 3 reasons sometimes lead him to do the irreparable.
“The child may commit suicide very impulsively because he wants to escape a situation where he would be blamed, where he would be scolded in an abnormal way.“Sometimes it’s a deeper, long-standing distress.”It is rather to escape a situation of suffering that he may find in educational problems or lack of parenting.” Finally, the school environment often intervenes in the matter. “At 8 years old, the child faces other children or adults in situations that can cause conflict or opposition. These situations can then seem harassing to him.”
Specialists agree: today’s children have the words, but not the weapons to express their suffering. Their world is saturated with images, social expectations, and immediate judgments. The school, which should be a refuge, then becomes a battlefield.
How do you know if a child is being bullied?
We also asked this question to Justine Atlan, president of e-enfance. She gave us some keys to observing her child.
“We can’t see everything, unfortunately. But it often leads to a change in behavior. A bullied teenager is no longer the happy teenager you know. If his grades drop, if he suddenly has a lot of trouble being on time at school, if he somatizes, if he loses his appetite, if he stops what he usually likes to do, or if he becomes aggressive when he wasn’t previously, that’s an indicator that something is wrong. happens in his life (even if it is not not necessarily harassment), you must therefore be attentive to it, ask questions, and not stop at an initial denial.”
Because children, like adolescents, may also want to hide their emotions and their discomfort, to protect their parents, for fear of aggravating their worries. “When a child speaks to you, you have to roll up behind him and never let him go.” she insisted.
What to do about harassment?
For Justine Atlan, every minute counts:“We must show him immediately that we take this seriously, that it is serious and unacceptable, and that from now on, we will not let him go.”
Then following concrete steps:
- Alert the school in writing (email or letter) in order to leave a trace. “This obliges the establishment to respond and allows the facts to be dated.”
- If nothing changes, contact the Academy’s harassment representative, present in each department. Two national numbers can also be called: 3020, for school bullying, 3018, for cyberbullying.
- And above all, do not neglect psychological monitoring.
“Free consultations exist in reception centers and “youth listening” points. This is important, even when the situation is resolved, because the repercussions can appear several months later.” Follow-up to apply from an early age, if you fear for your child’s mental health. Above all, to avoid crying other Sammys.