In order to encourage teenagers to spend less time online, the parents of a teen who committed suicide after joining an online forum where he received "horrific messages" have founded a charity.
In March 2022, 15-year-old Christoforos Nicolaou was discovered in a coma at his family's residence in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire.
The nonprofit organization supports parents who are concerned about their kids.
His mother said, "They can save their kids, but we can no longer do anything for our son.".
Despite noticing a relatively abrupt change in their son's behavior, George Nicolaou, 52, and Areti Nicolaou, 49, said they never anticipated what would happen.
According to his parents, Christoforos was a "liked child" who enjoyed cooking and sports and was constantly trying to help others.
Mr. Nicolaou claimed that in the final 40 to 50 days of his life, his son underwent a change from being a "happy, prosperous" child.
"When you have a son like that, bad thoughts don't cross your mind. If upset, he would talk constantly, according to Mrs. Nicolaou.
He became more reclusive and started watching horror movies late at night. He also started eating quickly before going back to his bedroom and complaining of headaches.
Christoforos' parents didn't learn he participated in at least one online forum where he received "horrific messages" until after their son had passed away.
"I opened his laptop and found some absolutely horrifying conversations through a specific forum," Mr. Nicolaou claimed. appalling conversations. ".
According to his mother, one person told him to try taking his own life for days, with their final words being, "Are you dead?".
As a legacy for their son, they established the Chistoforos Charity Foundation (CCF).
"Our house is empty, and we are now living for everyone else," Mr. Nicolaou said.
"There are only the two of us. aiding children and their parents. ".
According to him, they wanted parents to "be a little bit more aware of what kids are up to" and to support kids in engaging in "fun activities" in the "outside world.".
"Find a way to communicate with your children. Parents are familiar with their children, so we must find a way to communicate with them in order to try to understand them. I am aware that it is challenging because they are teenagers, but we must try. "They can save their children, but we can no longer do anything for our son," Mrs. Nicolaou said. .
"My son? Never," every parent would reply. We were once them, but believe me, it does happen. God forbid, it might be one of them, but we want to stop it, which is why we established this charity, said Mr. Nicolaou.
