The boy and his 7 year old sister were watching TV while both parents were "showering" and at least 20 minutes passed before the child was found?

I don't like it.

Leaving kids of 6 and 7 alone for 30 minutes or so would not be unusual at all, unless you had other reasons to be concerned. Hell, sometimes you leave them outside for longer than that.

I guess I object to focusing on the parents. They have lost their child. And the police have found no evidence of anything to charge the parents with.

I kind of doubt that I was left alone for long at 6 or 7, but I don't have a great memory either way.

I don't have a parent's experience, but it seems like a question worth asking.

I also wonder what kinds of things caused this child to take such an action? Were there signs?

Sad Sad Sad....

Though it seems like they maybe could have tag teamed on that, taken turns. Still, at that age I would not be worried about my kids watching TV while I took a shower.

There could be other evidence at some point that points to the parents doing something, but that alone isn't even close to enough to make me question it.

Parents are still sexual humans and might want a little time to themselves.

My 6-year-old daughter has been alone in her room for an hour, now. I don't think I'm being a horrible Mom because her father and I want to watch the news and she wants to play with her iPad.

They should be able to occupy themselves in front of the TV for that long at that age regardless of what the parents were doing, really.

"BOISE – Childhood suicide, it’s a sobering topic. KTVB recently learned about a child in Payette who committed suicide at the young age of six.

Normally KTVB has a policy as a station not to report on suicides because over 50 worldwide studies have found that certain types of news coverage can increase the likelihood of suicide in vulnerable people. However, this case is unique due to the boy’s age.

This is a difficult topic to address, but it's one, that if addressed, can hopefully save lives.

In kids ages 10 to 14, suicide is in one the top five leading causes of death. But for younger children, especially six year olds, there really aren't any statistics available.

KTVB spoke to the mother of the young boy, as well as police. They say there could be a number of things that led to his death.

KTVB also spoke with a licensed professional counselor about what parents should know so they can address troubling signs early.    

Robin Harviel with Warm Springs Counseling Center says those signs, both verbal and non-verbal can be a warning.

Warning signs:
Withdrawing from family and friends
Slouching
Looking and being sad
Acting out
Kicking things
Bashing toys together

Kids typically do those kinds of things, but Harviel says it's when these behaviors are combined - and continue to get worse that you should think about seeking help.

"You just have to know your child and know when the behavior begins to change in a negative way," said Harviel.

Something else Harviel says, talk to your kids.

"It's okay to have a frank conversation about it and to talk to your child about it,” Harviel says. “It doesn't put the thoughts there, sometimes the thoughts are already there and it's just good to be able to get it out into the open, 'Oh, my parents aren't afraid of me saying these things, it's okay for me to talk about it.' Let them know that you're available for those kinds of discussions."

The reality is, many, if not most kids that age don't completely comprehend the finality of death. That's why, Harviel says, research shows it's better to have it in the open than to not talk about it, because statistics show one in three kids has had some sort of thought about suicide.

If someone you know needs help one place to start is the Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline. The number is 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

For more resources on suicide prevention, click here or here."

very tragic. Was a child who had been severely abused.

It's a little town so the TV crime scene actors aren't going to show up and figure this out in a 52 minute show .

When is it ever appropriate for anyone to commit suicide ? Can a young kid feel that hopeless ?

Depression is an evil beast, and when it strikes young, it can feel unendurable. Add in severe situational circumstances...

Most very young children with depression don't have enough procedural organization to kill themselves, and that's the main thing protecting them, because as a culture, we don't recognize either situational dysfunction or childhood depression at all well.

did something to experiment with what he saw on TV or heard about and it was an accident.

Lots of adults don't either imo but that's another issue. Kids don't really grasp that death is GONE and not going somewhere else or coming back in some fanciful way until they're eight to ten. A traumatized or despondent or depressed six year old might do the act, but what it means to him isn't what it would mean to us. Same for killing someone. As I said, some adults think that way too, and it contributes to the "solution" in a terrible way.