As your child grows and develops, you should notice specific behavior that they do that is normal for a growing child to display. However, some may set off mild alarms in your head, but you don’t know whether it’s right to be concerned about the behavior and if therapy is necessary.
To help you, here are some signs your kids show that may indicate that the help of a child therapist could be something you’d need.
Photo credit: dimaberlinphotos via Canva.com
*Post may contain affiliate links. Full disclosure can be viewed here.
At one point, your child will most likely throw a tantrum, and most of the time, this is normal. You can wait it out with them or communicate to settle that tantrum. However, there might be instances where the tantrums are alarmingly frequent and intense. In this case, you might want to check with a professional to make sure everything’s okay,
A child psychologist can help you determine whether their tantrums are normal behavior or if there are causes for concern behind their tantrums. They have the expertise to identify any underlying issues contributing to these tantrums, such as anxiety, trauma, or developmental disorders.
Your child psychologist or therapist should help your child be more ready to explore their emotions and develop healthy coping mechanisms instead of being victims of it. The therapist can give you and your child some tools and practices to help you stay calm in the face of these tantrums and help you better understand where they’re coming from.
2. Engaging in self-harming behavior
Discovering that your child is engaging in self-harm can be a startling experience for the parents, and the critical part here is not to overact. Shaming the child and invalidating their feelings are especially harmful to your child, who is engaging in self-harming behavior.
To help your child, getting them to meet with a therapist is helpful so that they can help identify healthier coping mechanisms. In some cases, a child psychologist can even help if they identify potential mental illnesses, and they can provide medicinal intervention if your child needs that to maintain better mental health.
Also, the right therapist can be the outsider your child would be more comfortable confiding in. Sometimes, even if all you want is the best for your child, they might not be comfortable with you being their confidant, and a therapist can help with that instead.
3. Decline in school performance
If your child has always been an achiever in school and has a sharp decline in academic performance, you might feel concerned. One mistake you could make with this is to assume that your child is simply becoming lazier.
It’s common for parents to say this, but these conversations and prompts will not help your child become more motivated. Instead of doing that, get a therapist to help you understand whether their decline in school performance is from a cause you can manage and what you can do with it.
A therapist can help identify or root out the cause of their decline in school performance. Is it a more challenging curriculum? Is it pressure from their history of being great in school performance? Would it be from not having a good time while they’re at school?
Instead of trying to get it out of your child yourself, the therapist can be their advocate and talk to them about what happened regarding their school performance.
4. Aggressive behavior
One of the most concerning behavioral struggles that your child might display is a good sign it’s time to get a professional child therapist to help with aggressive behavior.
Child behavioral struggles, especially those manifesting as aggression, should not be ignored or dismissed as “just a phase.” Persistent aggressive behavior can have long-lasting effects on your child’s development and social relationships.
With a child therapist, you don’t have to sit and guess; they’re there to identify any underlying causes of aggressive behavior. They can then work with your child to develop effective strategies for managing and addressing these challenges, and they’ll also help you know what your job is to help with these.
They can also refer you to a child psychologist if they discover an underlying health condition affecting your child and making them more likely to display aggressive behavior.
5. Interrupting when you’re talking
Kids at a certain age would constantly interrupt your conversations, and that’s fine. Usually, kids talk a lot at four to five years old and may be prone to interrupting conversations. However, as they get older, they should learn that conversations are an interaction and that it might be rude to interrupt people as they’re talking.
If your child has not learned not to interrupt conversations when they should be old enough to know better, it might be a good idea to talk to a child therapist about it.
Interrupting conversations might be rude, but it’s not inherently bad behavior. However, if you notice other signs that accompany it indicating poor impulse control, you should consider talking with a child therapist to see whether it is a cause for concern.
6. Exaggerating the truth
Some form of dishonesty is not a good habit for your child to learn, but they may know to do it at some point. What’s not okay is when they repeatedly lie to cover up all their mistakes and wrongdoings.
If you find that your child has a penchant for constantly exaggerating the truth, a child therapist can help course correct appropriately with your kids.
7. Harming animals
A massive red flag for parents is if they notice that their child is prone to harming others, including animals. Punishing them for this behavior can be a band-aid solution, but it’s not solving the root cause of this harmful behavior, which is where a child therapist can step in and help you and your child.
8. Frequent nightmares
Many people experience nightmares at one point, but if you notice that your child gets nightmares alarmingly frequently, it might be time to relieve them by obtaining a child therapist to help.
That way, you can identify whether things are going on in their lives that could trigger their frequent nightmares.
9. Drastic mood swings
Children don’t have strong communication skills, and their frustration from being unable to communicate their feelings might lead to drastic mood swings. Your child feeling bad once in a while is alright, but if it feels like they can go from happy to sad to angry at the drop of a hat, you can get a child therapist to help them navigate their emotions better.
10. Social isolation
If your child isn’t developing friendships at school or even with relatives their age, you can get a child therapist to uncover that with you and them.
Social isolation can make a child quite lonely and is unsuitable for developing their self-esteem. Plus, the more socially isolated they are, the harder it will be for them to interact with their peers. Getting a child therapist can help you figure out steps to navigate that better with your child.
Final Thoughts
Getting help from a child therapist for your child when you encounter these behavioral struggles is not a sign of your failure as a parent. It’s simply a matter of trying everything you can to give your child a complete and happier life.
Therefore, if you feel like some of these struggles resonate with you, consider getting a child therapist for your child so that you can overcome them.
