25 signatures reached
To: UK Government
Self-Harm is on the rise! Prevent the sale of pencil sharpeners to children under 16.
Self-Harm is on the rise and CAMHS cannot cope! Parents of Self-Harm children are calling out to you for help. We need pencil sharpeners adding to the list of items that children under a certain age can purchase by themselves. Ideally a till point alert and anyone under 16 trying to purchase a pencil sharpener gets refused. They don't seem dangerous, they're usually really cute and pretty or just plain and fit their original purpose. However when you see one broken purposely so that the blade is exposed then your child can use it to self harm, then it's one of the most frightening things you'll ever see and you'll never unsee it! If these were banned for children under 16 to purchase on their own it might give a little relief to parents to know that at least their child can't go out and buy one themselves to potentially or accidentally kill themselves. It's a battle to keep them safe. Please help us. With the government on our side we might not win the whole battle but it will be one less worry.
Why is this important?
This might not seem important. Pencil sharpeners are cute, colourful, they look pretty and safe. Until you find one in your child's Self-Harm kit you have no idea how dangerous these are. It's so easy to break one they're usually cheap. In less than a minute your child has a weapon. Self Harm is on the rise. Sometimes there's a reason they're doing this to themselves and sometimes sadly it's just what their mates are doing. Once they start though it can become a compulsion and can be very difficult to stop.
