Although many cases of clinical depression aren’t diagnosed until adulthood, some doctors believe severe cases of adult depression begin in childhood. Major depression can affect people of all ages. However, childhood depression is often overlooked because most children can’t express or explain their feelings. There are telltale signs of childhood depression. And it’s important for every parent to familiarize themselves with the symptoms and tackle the problem early.
Instructions
1. Notice a change in appetite. Childhood depression can increase or decrease your child’s appetite. From an early age, some depressed children learn rely on food for comfort. In turn, they’ll request sweet treats and carbohydrates. Quite the contrary, your child may stop eating or lose his appetite.
2. Notice your child sleeps longer than eight hours a night. Depression is physically and mentally exhausting, and depressed children often deal with periods of fatigue. Your child may sleep for more than nine hours a night and she may fall asleep throughout the day.
3. Notice your child loses interest in hobbies and friends. Children are characteristically happy and enjoy spending time with friends and family. However, a sudden shift in your child’s attitude toward leisure pursuits can indicate a serious problem.
4. Notice your child overreacts or throws frequent temper tantrums. It’s normal for children to be upset, cry and throw an occasional temper tantrum. If your child begins to react excessively to trivial situations or has recurrent crying spells and anger outbursts, depression may be the underlying cause.
5. Notice your child develop a negative attitude or become aggressive. Because children don’t always know express their feelings, they tend to misbehave. Depressed children may antagonize their peers or siblings, demonstrate a defiant attitude and show signs of irritability.
6. Realize an obsession with death or dying can be a sign of childhood depression. Children are naturally curious about death, and asking questions can help them cope with the death of a loved one. However, a fascination with death is unhealthy, and all thoughts of suicide should be taken seriously.
Tags: your child, Notice your, Notice your child, with death, hours night, their feelings
