As someone studying to be a child psychologist, I know that child suicide exists and is tragic.
I remember my professor once telling me about a depressed child he was working with. The child wanted to commit suicide. The child insisted that they understood what death meant, that if they died they were never coming back. After many sessions, my professor happened to mention that when you die, you don't have any more birthdays. The child suddenly said "What?! I don't come back on my birthdays? What about Christmas?"
Children absolutely have the ability to kill themselves (and other things/people, too). But the truth is that they do not understand the consequences. That part of their brain has not yet developed (and doesn't until you are in your early twenties) and they cannot fathom what death really means.
I remember my professor once telling me about a depressed child he was working with. The child wanted to commit suicide. The child insisted that they understood what death meant, that if they died they were never coming back. After many sessions, my professor happened to mention that when you die, you don't have any more birthdays. The child suddenly said "What?! I don't come back on my birthdays? What about Christmas?"
Children absolutely have the ability to kill themselves (and other things/people, too). But the truth is that they do not understand the consequences. That part of their brain has not yet developed (and doesn't until you are in your early twenties) and they cannot fathom what death really means.