Parent-child specialist Wu Chuan-yu (吳娟瑜) on Sunday urged family members to help their children or siblings build a sense of self-worth and standing in the family, in the wake of a deadly rampage in Taipei last week.
Wu made the remarks when commenting on 27-year-old Chang Wen (張文), who on Friday last week threw smoke grenades and indiscriminately stabbed people at Taipei Main Station and near Zhongshan MRT Station, killing three people and injuring at least 11.
He later jumped to his death from a building while being pursued by police.
Photo: Wong Yu-huang, Taipei Times
Local media reported that Chang was disconnected from his family, including his parents who allegedly said they had tried to contact him, but had not seen him for more than two years, while his elder brother allegedly said he had not seen Chang for more than five years.
Chang’s father is an engineer, his mother is an accountant and his family is considered financially secure, media reported.
Teachers at a vocational school Chang attended described him as well-behaved with good grades, but that he was withdrawn and introverted, according to news reports.
Wu said that Chang might not have sought support from home when facing setbacks, and potentially had no emotional outlet, which might have led him to suppress his feelings.
Judging from his school performance, Chang might have been a bright child, but his “lone wolf” attack implied that he might have given up on himself and believed that no one understood him, she said.
Parents need to do more than only value their child’s academic success, as each child has their own personality and traits, and parents should refrain from comparing their child with siblings, she said.
The structure of many Taiwanese families, with a strict father and a lenient mother who compares siblings, might cause some children to feel resentful and misunderstood, or frustrated if their parents deem their siblings to have performed better, she said.
Children need trust, guidance, support and understanding to resolve misunderstandings, and it is important that children obtain a sense of self-worth from their parents and siblings, Wu said.
Siblings might misunderstand each other when they are young, as they are sometimes only encouraged to study hard and get good scores to please their parents, she said.
However, when they grow up, they should try to take time to talk and listen to each other, and try to “reset” their relationship, she said.
Parents should also let their children know that they have “standing” in the family and are irreplaceable, she added.
Chang might not have asked for help, Wu said.
Family, friends or teachers who believe a young person is struggling should talk to them or should encourage them to call the 24-hour 1995 hotline or 1980 hotline run by the Teacher Chang Foundation to talk about problems with trained counselors, she said.
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