killing himself

I have two boys, 5 1/2 and 3.  They were messing around and fighting as usual and I yelled at them to stop.  A couple of minutes later I went into our living room and my 5 1/2 yr old son was putting a cord from a small T.V. around his neck.  I took the cord away and asked him what he was doing.  He replied "I thought if I wasn't around anymore, and you only had one kid it would be quieter for you".  This scared me to death. I just hugged him and told him how much I loved him and I would never want him to go away from me.  I told him he should never hurt himself, if he has a problem to talk to me about it.

Should I be concerned with this behavior?  This is the first time he has done something like this.  He does have issues with death, he cries alot if one of our pet fishes dies and he is always asking about his nana and grampie who died before he was born.

Thank you.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Yes, this is worth following up on, both because of the action itself and also because of his perception. Go ahead and arrange an evaluation by a pediatric mental health professional. The clinician can be from any one of the several mental health disciplines: psychology, psychiatric social work, psychiatry or psychiatric nursing. The key credential is that the clinician be seasoned in the diagnosis and treatment of young children.