The parents of a teen who committed suicide after joining an online forum where he received "horrific messages" have founded a charity urging young people to limit their online time.
In March 2022, 15-year-old Christoforos Nicolaou was discovered unresponsive at his family's Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, residence.
The charity aims to assist parents who are concerned about their kids.
His mother said, "We can no longer do anything for our son, but they can save their children.
The Nicolaou family, George, 52, and Areti, 49, said they noticed a relatively abrupt change in their son's behavior but never anticipated what would happen.
According to his parents, Christoforos was a "liked child" who enjoyed sports and cooking and was always eager to assist others.
In the last 40 to 50 days of his life, according to Mr. Nicolaou, his son underwent a change from being a "happy, prosperous" child.
"Your mind doesn't wander to bad things when you have a son like that. Whenever he was upset, he would talk, according to Mrs. Nicolaou.
In addition to becoming more reclusive, he started watching horror films late at night, eating quickly before going back to his bedroom, and complaining of headaches.
After Christoforos passed away, his parents learned that he had participated in at least one online forum where he had received "horrific messages.".
I opened his laptop and discovered some horrifying conversations that were taking place on a specific forum, Mr. Nicolaou claimed. awful conversations. ".
One person, according to his mother, told him to try taking his own life for days, with their final message reading, "Are you dead? ".
In order to leave their son a lasting legacy, they established the Chistoforos Charity Foundation (CCF).
We are currently living for everyone else, Mr. Nicolaou said, adding that our home is empty.
We are the only two here. assisting kids and their parents. ".
In order to encourage kids to engage in "fun activities" in the "outside world," he said, parents should "be a little bit more alert to what children are up to.".
"Find a way to talk to your kids. We need to find a way to communicate with parents in order to try to understand what is going on in their children's heads because parents are the best people to ask about their children. We have to try, even though I know it will be challenging because they are teenagers. They can save their children, but we are powerless to help our son any longer, Mrs. Nicolaou said. .
Each and every parent would respond, "My son? Never. Despite the fact that we were once them, it does happen. We want to stop it, which is why we established this charity, even though it might be one of them, God forbid, Mr. Nicolaou said.
