Does your child need help?

 

Many children and adolescents struggle to articulate how they are feeling or what they are experiencing. Often, these struggles are manifest through behavior.

Below are some warning signs which may indicate your child’s need for professional help. 

“It is never too late to have a happy childhood.”-Tom Robbins

Children

Warning Signs

  • Bed wetting after a definite extended period of successful potty training
  • Temper tantrums which are not age appropriate
  • Emotional sensitivity which is not age appropriate
  • Frequent stomach aches, head aches, or other somatic symptoms for which your doctor cannot find a cause
  • Pervasive defiance to authority figures or rules
  • Difficulty separating from trusted adults in multiple settings
  • Frequent night terrors
  • Statements/actions of suicide
  • Statements/actions of wanting others to die
  • Trying to harm oneself
  • Performing routines obsessively
  • Hearing or seeing things which aren’t really there
  • Violent or aggressive behaviors
  • Persistent feelings of sadness or anger
  • A sudden, unexplained drop in grades or disruptive behaviors in school
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Harming animals

Adolescents

Warning Signs

  • Persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness
  • Constant anger or a tendency to overreact to situations
  • Persistent worry, anxiety, or fearfulness
  • Preoccupation with physical illness or their own appearance
  • A sudden, unexplained drop in grades at school
  • Loss of interest in activities that were once enjoyed
  • Significant changes in sleeping or eating patterns
  • Social isolation, preferring to be alone rather than in the company of friends or family
  • Hearing voices or seeing things that aren’t really there
  • Expressing thoughts of suicide
  • Self harm (cutting, etc.)
  • Difficulty concentrating, thinking clearly, or making decisions
  • Obsessive routines, such as washing hands or cleaning things
  • Frequent nightmares
  • Alcohol or drug use
  • Obsessive dieting 
  • Binging followed by self-induced vomiting, excessive exercise, or taking laxatives
  • Violent acts such as setting fires or harming animals

Resources I Recommend

Talking to Kids about Sex: 

http://www.finlayson-fife.com/talk-to-kids/

Domestic Violence/Abuse:

http://lundybancroft.com/books/

Mindfulness App:

https://www.headspace.com/headspace-meditation-app

Parenting Tips:

 http://www.parentingpurposefully.com/try-this/

  

 

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