|
Relationship Topics
When Your Child Is Bullied
Signs to Look For
We must identify children who appear to be experiencing self-hatred or are harboring deep resentment and anger. The symptoms to look for include overreactions to minor frustration, fear of new social situations, experimentation with drugs or alcohol, difficulty sleeping or eating, extreme isolation and withdrawal, chewing fingernails, inability to make friends, disinterest in school activities, and bullying others.
Be especially vigilant when a child who has mentioned killing himself suddenly seems carefree and happy. That sometimes means he has decided to go through with the death wish and is no longer struggling with what has been bothering him.
In each of these cases, get professional help for the child. Do not console yourself with the notion that he'll grow out of it.
It used to be believed that most kids were basically happy and carefree. That is changing. According to psychologist and author Dr. Archibald Hart, we are now seeing more signs of serious depression in children, even as young as five years old.
If a five- to 10-year-old is depressed, he may show signs of lethargy: he may not want to get out of bed in the morning; he may mope around the house; he may show no interest in things that would normally excite him. Sleep disturbances and stomach complaints are also warning signs.
Another symptom can be open anger, hostility and rage. He may lash out suddenly or unexpectedly at people or things around him. If you suspect that your child is depressed, you should help him put his feelings of sadness or frustration into words. Make yourself available to listen without judging or belittling the feelings expressed.
Simply being heard can go a long way toward lifting a childs depressed mood. Most important, you need to look for the root cause that is behind the distress. What is happening in your child's school may hold the answer.
Dr. James Dobson
Excerpted by permission from Bringing Up Boys (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001)
Do you have thoughts, questions, advice on this topic? Post your stories and comments in the forum for other parents to respond to. Enter the forum now.
|
 |
|
